Palletshipping
by JordiiPordiiPuddinPie
Summary: A collection of Palletshipping oneshots from the mind of PuddinPie. Stories contain Ash and Gary as friends, rivals, and love interests. Rated K through T.
1. The Ice Cream Incident

Story Summary: It's a hot day in Pallet Town, and Ash and Gary are hoping to get some ice cream. Rated K.

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><p><em>The Ice Cream Incident<em>

_Tap, tap. Tap, tap. Tap, tap. Tap, tap._ Came the footsteps of two little pairs of feet, completely off beat and not at all in sync with each other. Two friends walked along, enjoying the day.

"Ice cream, ice cream! Icy, icy, ice cream!" Sang five year old Ash Ketchum as he walked along, swinging his arms back and forth in his stride. Beside him walked his best friend, who was also five years old, Gary Oak. It was a sunny day, and they were off to Gary's grandfather's lab, to play around and see all the wonderful pokémon there.

...A secondary goal, however, aside from getting to Professor Oak's to play with the pokémon, was catching the Ice Cream Man on the way there, who usually came pushing his cart each day from this direction. Each little boy had a single quarter on them; that was enough money to buy one ice cream each. They hoped to meet the man during their walk to the lab.

"What kind of ice cream are you going to get, Ash?" Asked Gary Oak as the brunette looked over to his friend, who was practically skipping along. Ash didn't even glance over to his friend as he exclaimed, "A Rainbow Snow Cone, of course!"

Gary gave a tiny roll of his eyes. A Rainbow Snow Cone. Of course Ash would go with something like that. Each ice cream would cost only a quarter, though, so Gary supposed it hardly mattered what kind either of them got.

"What about you? What kind of ice cream are you going to get?" Ash asked, looking to his friend now with his brown eyes shining with excitement. A walk to Professor Oak's lab to spend the rest of the day playing with pokémon, and getting a treat on the way there! It sounded great!

In response to the question, Gary glanced up at the blue sky above, lips pursed slightly and his brown eyebrows furrowed together as he thought. "I don't know yet," He finally answered, and just as he did they heard a little bell.

_Ding! Ding Ding!_

The sound caught the attention of the two boy's, and they both looked ahead of them, to find the man they had been waiting to see. The Ice Cream Man! "It's him! It's him!" Ash called happily, already running forward. Gary followed, ready to get himself an ice cream - whatever kind he ended up choosing.

The man, slightly plump and sweaty from the hot temperatures of the past few days, stopped the cart as the two little boys came up, and he smiled. "What can I get ya', eh?" He asked, taking off his hat and wiping his brow with his wrist.

"I want a Rainbow Snow Cone, please!" Ash exclaimed eagerly, pulling the quarter his mother had given him out of his pocket. The man smiled, and traded Ash the quarter for his desired treat. Then, he looked to Gary. "And what about you, little tyke?" He asked.

Gary let his stormy blue hues drift to the little menu taped to the front of the cart. So many different things... But looking this list over, he knew what he wanted. He looked up to the man, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his quarter. "I want a Lemon Pop, please."

The man's eyebrows raised themselves as he heard the boy's request, and he smiled. "Most don't have a taste for Lemon Pops, but I like 'em." The man stated, and took the quarter. He got out a Lemon Pop, wrapped in a white wrapper, and offered it to Gary.

"Thank you," Gary said, taking the frozen treat. "Thank you!" Ash finally chirped up in his words of thanks, following Gary's lead as they headed off, back on their way. "Have a good one!" The plump Ice Cream Man called, and Ash looked over his shoulder and waved happily. "Bye, bye!"

With their small goal now accomplished, the two boys could enjoy their treats and focus on getting to Professor Oak's lab. Gary tore right into his Lemon Pop, pleased when he saw the yellow popsicle in perfect condition. Ash, however, wasn't having such an easy time getting into his ice cream.

The Rainbow Snow Cone he had gotten was wrapped in thin plastic, and didn't look like it'd be too hard to open. But the little boy struggled with it because the plastic was so tight against the treat, and finally looked to Gary, who was just getting ready to take his first taste of a Lemon Pop.

"Gary, can you open this?" Ash asked, holding the snow cone out. Gary raised an eyebrow and looked to the boy and snow cone, before sighing. "What would you do without me?" He wondered aloud, and stuck the Lemon Pop into his mouth, clamping his mouth around it to hold it there. Oh! Now _that_ was sour! The boy felt himself shudder lightly, but focused on Ash's ice cream and opening it.

He took the Rainbow Snow Cone into his hands, examining the colorful treat, before he started picking at the plastic. Ash walked beside him with his hands clasped behind his back, watching and waiting. Gary kept trying to pick at the plastic, hoping the small bit of nails he had could tear into it, but found that was unsuccessful.

Gary held the very bottom of the cone between his thumb and index finger, and picked around the sides of the cone. Finally, he felt his finger break past the plastic barrier, and he rather arrogantly jerked his hand, knowing he'd definitely get the ice cream open now. The plastic tore, and the snow cone seemed to tilt a bit too much with only Gary's two fingers being there to support it. Gary's expression turned from triumphant to horrified as he and Ash watched the semi-frozen treat fall out of the cone. The two stopped walking on instinct, and for Gary time seemed to stand still.

Both boys eyed the fallen, frozen treat as it lay on the ground, melting messily. Gary glanced up at Ash, and as he saw the boy's eyes becoming filled with tears he felt a big bus of guilt hit him. "Oops..." He muttered softly, and it was then that Ash broke into loud wails.

"My... My ice cream!" The five year old cried out, hands coming up to his eyes as he cried, sobbing loudly. Gary's face scrunched up as he felt his stomach twist into knots. Oh, geez. Look what he'd done! Now Ash was crying!

The two stood there a few minutes, Gary now holding his Lemon Pop by the stick as he watched Ash with an absolutely pitiful look, who cried and cried. "My.. Rainbow... Snow Cone!" Ash cried through his sobs, and Gary's frown deepened. The boy looked down to his Lemon Pop, and his eyebrows raised. Maybe...?

"Hey, Ash? I'm sorry." Gary apologized. He took a step towards his friend, hand going to his shoulder while the other held his slowly melting Lemon Pop between the two of them. "Do you want to share my ice cream?" Gary offered, and Ash lifted his head, looking up at his friend. The little boy gave a sniffle, and a small nod. "Okay..." He said quietly, and Gary held the popsicle a bit closer to Ash, who leaned forward to give it a little lick. Ash's eyebrows raised themselves and his eyes opened wide. "That's sour!" He exclaimed, scrunching up his face a little but giggling all the same. Gary smiled.

The brunette gave it a little lick, saving his hand from getting sticky just as some of the popsicle tried to melt onto his hand. "Here," He handed it off to Ash, who took it. The five year old gave it another little lick, and smiled up at Gary. It was sour, but not bad.

"The popsicle is sour," He stated, and stepped a little closer to Gary. His other hand came up, and Ash hugged Gary's waist a little, licking the Lemon Pop happily. "But you're sweet," He complimented. Gary felt his face heat up slightly as Ash pulled away, starting to skip towards Professor Oak's lab, which was in sight.

Gary watched his friend, and smiled. Slipping his hands into the pockets of the little pair of shorts he wore, Gary followed after Ash, not too far behind his friend but not quite with him, either.

The two finally made it to Professor Oak's lab, and it was needless to say that when they arrived Ash still had the Lemon Pop in his hand, licking at it furiously as it's melting process continued to speed up. Gary hardly minded, and by the time the popsicle was gone Ash had gotten the majority of it that sunny summer day in Pallet.

The two played with pokémon the rest of the day, and at sunset Gary walked Ash home - back to the Ketchum house. The two came across the spot where they had left Ash's Rainbow Snow Cone, only to find it gone - the paper cone and all. But the two little boys just continued on their way, not thinking about it.

Behind a bush nearby, a little Bulbasaur was trying it's hardest to stick it's tongue into, low and behold, the paper cone of some sort of ice cream, trying to get the colorful liquid, once a frozen treat, onto his tongue. _Bulba-saur!_ It huffed, and continued trying to obtain the liquid from inside the cone.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Raise your hand if you know who's food that Bulbasaur will end up stealing on a camping trip! -raises hand-<p>

Yeppp... The Bulbasaur from Poké Camp Out totally made an appearance here. This is before that story ever happened, though, because Ash is still five while he was six in Poké Camp Out.

Thanks for reading! Review? Favorite? Subscribe? Hmmm?


	2. Flowers Have Flavors

Story Summary: Ash wants Gary to get him flowers, but he doesn't want them to look at... Rated K.

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><p><em>Flowers Have Flavors<em>

The day was quiet in Pallet Town, the air still. It was only about half an hour shy of noon, and a small brunette named Gary Oak sat in the porch swing that hung on the back porch of the Ketchum household.

The boy wasn't moving the swing, only letting himself lean back in it, looking here and there boredly. He was here for the day because his parents were both working, and instead of taking him to his grandfather's house, who had also been busy, they had sent him here for Mrs. Ketchum to babysit him. He was supposed to be watching his friend, three year old Ash Ketchum, because his mom was currently in the house, busy making lunch. Mrs. Ketchum had asked him specifically not to let Ash wander off the porch, and not to do it himself. So here he sat, waiting on lunch.

Gary's blue eyes drifted away from a wind chime he'd been staring at as he heard straining sounds. "Uh! Uh! Uh!" Came the sounds, and his eyes landed on Ash.

On the opposite side of the porch, on his knees, was little three year old Ash Ketchum. Gary couldn't see his face because his friend was looking away from him, facing the other way. He could see one of Ash's little hands gripping at the railing of the porch, and his other hand wasn't in view. Four year old Gary raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Ash?" He asked, carefully getting out of the porch swing, having to make sure his feet were firmly on the porch before he started heading over.

The brunette stopped beside Ash, getting on his knees carefully. "What is it?" He asked, and Ash gave a whining noise. "The flow-er!" Ash whined, pointing at some flower bushes on the other side of the porch railing that he couldn't quite reach.

Gary looked to the flower bush Ash was pointing at, then to his friend again. "Do you want it?" He asked, and Ash gave an eager nod.

Giving one more glance to the flower bush, Gary leaned forward, elbowing Ash out of the way a little. His cheek pressed against the railing as he reached through it and, low and behold, Gary felt flower petals against the tips of his fingers. The brunette gripped onto part of the flower, and pulled it off the bush. He sat back on his knees, bringing the flower with him. He examined it briefly, before looking to Ash. "Here," He said as he offered it, and Ash gave a squeal. He took the flower from his friend, holding it's small stem in both hands, and smiled.

Gary Oak watched as his friend gave a blink and sniffed the flower curiously, and Gary gave a surprised blink as Ash bit off the flower. As Ash began to chew the flower now in his mouth, Gary made a face. Who ate flowers?

"Yummy!" Exclaimed Ash, who tossed the flower stem off to the side and looked to Gary, practically bouncing up and down where he sat. "More!" Ash insisted, wanting Gary to get him another flower.

The brunette bit his lip lightly, unable to believe his friend wanted another flower to _eat_. He gave a hesitant little nod, and reached back through the railing, plucking another flower from the flower bush. He handed it off to Ash. The black haired boy smiled happily and took it, and bit off a single petal, chewing it. The rest he offered to Gary.

"Try it!" Ash chirped, holding the flower out to Gary, who stared at it before making a face, but he took it nonetheless. Gary raised the flower to his mouth hesitantly and took a bite, ultimately pulling off a whole petal. The brunette chewed slowly, and swallowed. When he was done, his eyebrows raised and he looked at the flower. That was pretty good! "It tastes good!" He exclaimed, biting the remains of the flower off the stem.

Three year old Ash and four year old Gary looked at each another, and gave big smiles.

In a matter of a few minutes, Gary had proceeded to reach through the railing and pluck flowers from the flower bush several times. He gave them all to Ash, who gathered them in his lap, waiting for Gary to finish. He took some flowers from the other flower bushes too, wanting to see what the flowers from those bushes tasted like. Ash was also curious.

When they had a good pile of different flowers, they split the pile in half and started eating. As they ate, they exchanged the words of, "These are good!" and "Try these!" from time to time. Sometime during their flower feast, Ash got the hiccups, and the two little boys certainly went into fits of laughter.

Minutes later, there were footsteps, and Mrs. Ketchum stepped out onto the back porch where she'd last seen the two boys.

The woman looked ready to speak, as her mouth was opened, until she saw her son and his friend chewing on something. The brown haired woman gasped. "What are you two eating?" She exclaimed, alerted, and moved over to the two boys, crouching down.

"Flowers..." Both little boys answered quietly, and Ash hiccuped quietly as Gary pointed at the flower bushes. Mrs. Ketchum quickly peered over at the flower bushes, and felt a small feeling of relief flood her. _Those flowers aren't dangerous to eat, thank goodness..._

Another hiccup came from Ash and Gary giggled, taking another bite of a flower.

"Want some, Mommy?" Ash asked, offering his mother a purple flower with half it's petals already bitten off. Mrs. Ketchum gave a nervous smile and shook her head. "No, thank you." She declined the offer. Her son simply shrugged, eating the rest of the flower.

Mrs. Ketchum, surprisingly, let the two boys finish the flowers they had picked, since there weren't many left and they weren't dangerous. Then, she took them in to eat the lunch she'd made, and just prayed all those flowers hadn't filled them up.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>...I've never eaten flowers. That is all XD<p> 


	3. Of Friends And Falls

Story Summary: Ash and Gary take a day to spend with the neighborhood kids. But what happens when Ash gets hurt? Rated K.

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><p><em>Of Friends And Falls<em>

_Weedle, Weedle. Weedle, Weedle._ A small Weedle grooved as it wormed its way through the grass and up to the trunk of a tall tree. The small bug pokémon latched itself onto the tree and, at the sound of laughter, moved it's head to look over at the street just beside the tree it was preparing to climb. Kids, about ten to twelve of them, crowded the path, giggling and horse playing. The Weedle saw a little girl with pigtails pause in chattering away to another little girl, and the small pokémon flinched as she looked over to it. The Weedle made its way on up the tree in a hustle, and the young girl's face drooped into a frown. It didn't take long before her attention was elsewhere, though, and her small sadness forgotten. Someone finally broke away from the crowd of children.

A young boy emerged from the crowd of ten or so kids. He had light brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and brown eyes. The boy climbed onto a nearby trash can carefully, looking out over the crowd of fellow children.

"Hey! Hey!" He called out over the kids. "It's time to pick teams for our game!" He declared and the crowd, once chattering and laughing loudly, quieted down. Among the group was Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak.

The blue eyes of seven year old Gary Oak stared up at the boy standing on top of the trash can lid, Timmy Thompson, while beside him Ash was blinking in curiosity. They usually didn't come out to play with the neighborhood kids, and just played with each other, but they had decided to make today different. Instead of going out to explore and such, they had joined the other kids here to play some street soccer.

"Alright! Where's Hide?" Timmy Thompson asked, scanning the small group of kids his age with his brown eyes for the boy who was usually captain of the team that, well, wasn't his. A blonde eight year old by the name of Hide McBarber stepped out of the crowd. "Here I am," He said to his slightly younger friend atop the trash can, moving to stand beside said trash can. He faced the group of kids, arms crossed.

From there, the picking for teams began. A large, husky boy went to Timmy's team, along with a regular sized seven year old and two girls. A single girl, a tomboy, was picked by Hide, along with three boys.

In the end, only Gary and Ash stood waiting to be picked, because they usually didn't play and Timmy and Hide had picked the people they knew they wanted on their team's first. Timmy stood on the trash can still, hand on his chin as he debated who to pick. He was so focused that he wasn't blinking at all. Gary Oak or Ash Ketchum? Hide stood beside him, staring at the two remaining kids without teams, ready to take either one Timmy didn't choose, but inwardly hoping it wasn't Ash. Ash was a little small, even for a kid his age. At least Gary was sized right.

Finally, Timmy allowed himself to blink, for he had made up his mind. "Ash," The brunette said, causing Hide to grin. Yes! He got Oak!

"Alright, we're ready to go!" Timmy exclaimed, hopping off the trash can. The lid flew off, landing on the ground, but the boy paid the lid no mind as he picked up the trash can, getting the help of the husky boy he had chosen, and they moved it farther down the pathway. This would be their goal line. The other team would be using the tree beside the road; they would use the tree that Weedle had just climbed.

Gary and Ash looked to each other, and Ash wore a sad smile. "We're on different teams," He stated and Gary gave a small nod. "Yeah, good luck, Ash." He said. Ash also nodded. "You, too." And with that, the two friends went their separate ways to join their teams.

Each team had a goalie, like in regular soccer. The husky boy, Dennis, would be the goalie for Timmy's team. A boy named Joe with black hair and blue eyes would be the goalie for Hide's team. Any one else was a regular player. There was no referee.

In no time the game had started. Hide McBarber started out with the ball, dribbling it with his feet. He swiftly got past the two girls on Timmy's team, who squealed, and was headed to kick the old soccer ball they were playing with past the trash can; he was ready to score his team a point. And Hide did. The blonde kicked the ball hard and it went right between Dennis and the trash can, who carefully looked over his shoulder at the ball and said, "Aw, fish sticks." The husky boy retrieved the ball, and threw it back in to Timmy, who handed it back off to Hide. The eight year old dropped the ball to the ground, and eyed the "field."

Soon, he was on the move again. Making the same exact play, actually. This time, however, Timmy came between the two girls, Mary Ann and Ruth. Hide gritted his teeth as he saw his friend, and his eyes darted off to the side. "Oak!" He shouted out, kicking the ball quickly with the inside of his foot to Gary, whom had been running along side him. Gary slowed down briefly to receive the ball, then picked his pace back up. Blue eyes on the other team's hefty goalie, Gary leaned his body to the left, faking Dennis out, and kicked the ball right, causing it to skim just past the trash can without actually hitting it. Gary's team, Team 2, broke out into yells. "Nice job, Oak!" Hide praised, patting Gary on the shoulder and causing the brunette to grin. "Good job, Gary!" He heard Ash call, and looked over to see his best friend clapping his hands together, bouncing up and down. Gary smiled and gave Ash a thumbs up, before Timmy scowled. "Don't cheer for them, Ketchum! You're on this team!" He scolded. Ash flinched and lowered his hands. Gary frowned.

The game continued, and Team 1 caught up quickly with Team 2. They were tied with two points each when Gary got Team 2 a third point, putting them in the lead. "Alright!" Hide praised, just as he had for each goal Gary had gotten. The brunette peeked over to Ash, who he noticed was huddling with his team in a circle. Gary stood there briefly, wondering what they were up to, before Hide called him back to his team.

Once Team 1 broke their huddling session, the game continued and they, apparently, had a new game plan. Timmy started with the ball and as the girl on Hide's team, Jessica, came to steal it he kicked it to none other than Ash. Gary's eyebrows raised and he smiled. His friend was finally getting the ball! Hide rushed past Gary as he went to head Ash off, who was heading for their side. Ash saw Hide coming, of course, and went farther off to the side, hoping to get around Hide. Gary was standing still, watching with a big grin even though Ash wasn't on his team. Everyone else seemed to be standing and watching, too.

"Go Hide!" Jessica and a boy on Team 2 cheered as Hide swiftly kicked the ball out from in front of Ash, stealing it away and heading on forward towards Dennis, the Team 1 goalie. Ash gave a gasp and quickly turned around. _Timmy's plan will be ruined!_ Went through the black haired boy's mind as he was turning, and when he started to lose his balance was when he realized there was something underneath his feet.

The trash can lid, which had laid forgotten and unnoticed throughout the game. Ash was standing on the trash can lid. No, he was _trying to turn_ while on the trash can lid. Ash let out a loud gasp and Gary's eyes went away from the ball, where they had been focused, to Ash. The brunette's mouth began to fall open. The trash can lid slid out from under Ash's foot and the seven year old met the ground. "Ah!" He shouted as he fell, and his shout attracted the attention of even Hide, just as he was scoring Team 2 their fourth point. No one cheered; everyone's eyes were on little Ash, who carefully sat up, eyes already filled with tears. Gary rushed over before any one else even thought to move.

"Ash! Are you okay?" The concerned brunette exclaimed, rushing towards his friend and dropping down on his knees in front of him. "I..." Ash began, but sniffed as the tears that had collected in his eyes started spilling over and down his cheeks. The slightly small seven year old bent one of his legs, so his knee could be seen. His knee cap, which had apparently hit the ground first when Ash fell, was covered in blood.

Gary's blue hues went to the injured knee, and he made a face. He didn't really like seeing blood, especially not on his best friend, Ash. Gary scrunched up his face a little as he said, "That's not good,"

The brunette started to search his pockets. "I don't have any kind of bandage..." He muttered quietly to himself, not knowing what he was supposed to do. "I do," Came a distraught but naturally chipper voice. Gary glanced up, and there stood Mary Ann Martin, the pigtailed girl that had gotten slightly teary-eyed herself when that Weedle had practically ran from her via climbing that tree earlier. The girl reached into the pocket of the little pink dress she wore, and pulled out a single small bandaid. "It's all I have," She muttered quietly as Gary took it. Gary continued to frown. With the way Ash's knee was bleeding, they'd need more. "W-Will it work, Gary?" Asked Ash, whom was rather shaken up; the poor boy's body was shaking. "I dunno," Gary had to say truthfully as he took the wrapper off the bandaid. It didn't look like it'd cover it all...

Just then, there was a _Weeee-dllleeee!_ that caused all the kids to look up into a tree. "Hey! Look at that! A Weedle!" Timmy exclaimed, pointing. Mary Ann gave a gasp and smiled. "Weedle!" she said. _Weedle!_

The Weedle was perched on a tree branch in the tree, and it tilted it's head down slightly, aiming the stinger on it's head further along the branch at the very end, where the branch divided into two teeny tiny branches with only a few centimeters between them. _Weedle-weeeee!_ It cried out, beginning to use it's stringshot. Layers and layers of it's stringshot started to stick onto the small branches at the end of this one tree branch, and soon it was molding into what looked like an item that could be used as a small bandage. The Weedle stopped and moved closer to the edge of the branch, where it used all it's strength to hop up and down, causing the branch to shake. _Weedle! Weedle!_ It chanted as the bandage looking item fell down from the tree and Jessica, who stood near the tree, caught it. She eyed it, before Mary Ann called, "Bring it over here!" and the brown haired girl ran it over. She gave it to Mary Ann, who crouched down and held it carefully to Ash's bleeding knee cap. Ash winced, and Gary carefully stuck the bandaid over the Weedle-made bandage.

Gary and Mary Ann both smiled as Gary was making sure the bandaid stayed stuck to Ash's knee, and Ash gave another little sniffle as he eyed his knee. "Feel better, Ash?" Gary asked, hands resting on his own thighs. "Sort of..." Ash mumbled quietly as Mary Ann stood and looked over to the tree and Weedle. "Thank you, Weedle!" She exclaimed, giving a thankful wave. The Weedle gave a happy, _Weedle-wee!_

Timmy came up with Hide. "Do you think you can keep playing, Ash?" Timmy asked, and Ash gave a small nod. Timmy and Hide both smiled, happy the game would continue. They soon headed back to the others, and Mary Ann could hear Hide say, "So, it's my 4 to your 2." To which Timmy responded, "What? I didn't see that!" The two soon got into an argument, and Mary Ann frowned. "Oh, dear!" She exclaimed, leaving to make sure a real fight didn't break out over something so silly.

Gary looked to Ash, glad they were alone, and smiled. He let himself give Ash's arm a little rub. "Are you sure you want to keep playing?" The brunette asked, more than willing to quit and go home if Ash wanted to. The black haired boy gave a nod. "Mhm," He said, still looking at his knee as if it really pained him. Gary gave a smile and made sure no one was looking before he leaned down and gave Ash's bandaged knee a little kiss. "Better?" He asked, casting his blue hues up at his friend. He knew that Ash usually felt better after someone kissed his booboo's. Ash's tear-stained face carefully shifted to a happy face, and he smiled. "Uh-huh!" He said, because to Ash kisses really did make everything all better, even at this age. Gary smiled and helped his friend up, and when they got to the others he asked that Ash be put on his team.

Ash and a boy who had hardly been any help to Team 2 switched, and Ash and Gary continued to play street soccer with the neighborhood kids that day, now on the same team. But it was needless to say that, even though they had a lot of fun that day, from then on they went back to just sticking around each other. Just why, no one knows. But the neighborhood kids really only wondered about it the next day, then forgot they had joined them that one day at all. And Ash and Gary spent the rest of their days doing whatever Ash and Gary wanted to do, rather than what a big group of ten or so kids wanted to. And just with each other they couldn't have been happier.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>


	4. Bathtime Battle

Story Summary: Ash and Gary in a bath. You know, just because you're dealing with soap and water doesn't mean you won't end up making a mess. Rated K.

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><p><em>Bathtime Battle<em>

Snow fell softly in a slow descent from the sky to the town of Pallet. It was a cold evening in January, and the clock had just struck eight. Most weren't outside wandering; it was far too cold for a walk.

Although the air outside was so chilly and cool, six year olds Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum hardly knew it. The two boys sat in a warm bubble bath in the upstairs bathroom of the Ketchum household. Delia, or Mrs. Ketchum, had just finished washing their hair for them, making sure the boys didn't get suds in their eyes or anything, and had departed from the room, leaving them to play for a little while and continue to get clean. Gary was spending the night and it hadn't been long before their bath, perhaps an hour, that they had eaten dinner. After this Mrs. Ketchum would probably be letting them stay up and play a little bit longer before she'd put them to bed, Gary could imagine. But right now, he wasn't concerned with how soon they'd be going to bed. Actually, Gary was focused more on getting Ash clean after a long, dirty day of playing outside.

The brunette currently ran a bath pouf filled with suds and soap up and down against the skin of Ash's bare back. The pouf was designed to look like a Tangela. A somewhat light blue in color, the bath pouf had little red stubs sticking out from its core; the red pieces of cloth were meant to look like a Tangela's feet, Gary supposed. There had once been two eyes stuck onto some part of this pouf that was supposed to pass for a face, but it had been used with Ash and Gary in the bath so often, since they were teeny tiny tots, that the two little boys had come to tear the eyes off in their play. Honestly, Gary liked it better this way. It didn't stare.

"Rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub," Ash sang happily in the bath, sitting amongst all the bubbles and seated innocently between Gary's legs with his back to his friend. The black haired boy was playing with a small Squirtle bath toy. There was a small hole at the Squirtle's mouth, so a child could fill it up with water and squirt the water out like the toy were a real Squirtle; the company had put a warning on its tag that read, **THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT PROMOTE THE SQUEEZING OF ACTUAL SQUIRTLES.** Ash always laughed at that. You couldn't _squeeze a Squirtle_; the Squirtle's shell would be too hard to squeeze! Of course! Ash gave a small giggle at the very thought.

Gary scrubbed at Ash's back, making sure not to scrub too hard, but pressing down hard enough to at least get the dirt off without making Ash whine. They'd spent all day playing throughout Pallet Town. Climbing trees, exploring, the like. Everything had been fine, until they had come across a Sandshrew. It had, naturally, dug a tunnel in the ground to flee from them, and Ash had been the idiot that said, "Hey, lets follow it, Gary!" Needless to say, Ash had tried to follow the Sandshrew, but only his upper half had made it into the tunnel before Gary had to pull him out, and Ash came out dirt covered. Mrs. Ketchum hadn't been too thrilled.

But that was over now; Ash was getting clean. Gary gave one last scrub, before he pulled the Tangela bath pouf away from his friend's back. "Okay, Ash, I'm done." Gary said, letting Ash know he was finished cleaning his back, and that now it was time to switch so Ash could clean Gary's in return. Unfortunately for Gary Oak, his best friend was feeling playful, and had just finished filling his Squirtle bath toy with water. Ash turned around and pressed his fingers against the rubber Squirtle's stomach. Water shot out of the small toy and Gary gave a gasp, shutting his eyes and turning his face away a bit. "Ash!" He exclaimed.

His eyes weren't open, but he didn't need to see Ash to know he was laughing; he could hear the black haired Ketchum boy giggling. That was when a small little plan of revenge hatched itself in Gary's mind.

"Ow, Ash, you got me in the eye!" Gary exclaimed as if he were quite pained. The brunette was smiling behind his hands, which now covered his face.

Ash eyed his friend, and when Gary didn't look up at him, or start laughing, or say anything at all aside from muttering another small, "Ow," the boy began to panic. Oh, had he really squirted Gary in the eye? That sounded like it would hurt! He'd only wanted to get a little water up Gary's nose, if even that! For fun!

"I'm sorry, Gary!" Ash exclaimed quickly, feeling horrible and guilty, and it was obvious. "Lemme see!" He insisted, leaning closer to Gary. Gary's smile turned into a smirk behind his hands. "Well, okay..." He said in a quiet, distraught voice. Ash's hands came up, abandoning his Squirtle Toy and allowing it to float between them in the water, and the small pair of hands moved Gary's hands away from his face. "Lemme see..."

As soon as Ash's hands were off his, one of Gary's hands snatched the practically fully loaded toy out of the water faster than you could say "Pika!" and he raised it. Gary pressed the pads of his index and middle fingers against the middle of the Squirtle toy's belly, and water came squirting out.

"Ah!" Ash shrieked, his hands coming up to shield his face from the water attack, although it had already gotten him in the face a little. "You tricked me, Gary!" Ash exclaimed, and it was a few seconds, when Gary stopped squirting him, before he lowered his hands carefully. Ash gave a pouty frown. Gary had to laugh. "You squirted me first!" He reminded the slightly younger boy, who huffed. _"Ga-ry!"_ He cried out and soon enough the black haired boy was tackling his friend.

Gary gasped a bit and let go of the Squirtle toy, falling backwards into the bubble bath as he was tackled. He was glad there wasn't a wall behind him, or else his head would have hit it, for sure. Instead, he got some water in his mouth and came up briefly, coughing, before he went back down. He and Ash practically wrestled in the water. Bubbles flew here, there, and everywhere, along with plenty of water. "Garrryyy!" Ash whined. "Ash!" Gary exclaimed. Gary felt a hand pulling at his hair and he grunted, elbowing Ash in the ribs. Ash yelped, but pushed at Gary's chest. They continued like this, apparently unheard by Mrs. Ketchum, until something they considered rather silly happened. Gary poked out just his pointer finger, jabbing it forward into Ash's stomach. What on earth he'd been thinking, he didn't know, but it went into a perfect circle and Ash's hands flew to his stomach as Gary's fled to get away. The two boys looked at each other, the air tense. Then...

Ash gave a giggle. "You poked me in the belly button," He stated, the corners of his mouth now curved upwards into a smile, and Gary couldn't help but grin. His mouth twitched a little, and soon the two children broke out into fits of laughter. "I could never do that again!" Gary exclaimed, holding his stomach as he laughed. "No way! No way!" Ash agreed, in the same sort of position in front of his friend. The two sat there, laughing their heads off, until Mrs. Ketchum came back up.

"Are you two almost done getting cleaned up?" The woman asked and paused in the doorway. She took in the sight of her bathroom, brown eyes scanning the room. Water was flung all over the floor along with plenty of bubbles and suds!

_"ASH KETCHUM!"_

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>I promise Gary got into trouble, too :) But Ash is Delia's son, so...<p> 


	5. Kisses For Ash

Story Summary: Little Ash Ketchum gets plenty for Valentine's Day, but there's one thing he wants that he has never been given. And he wants his best friend Gary to give it to him. Rated K.

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><p><em>Kisses For Ash<em>

_"Good morning, Pallet,"_ Came a news anchor on the small television in the Ketchum's kitchen. _"It's a beautiful morning, and I'm happy to announce that today is going to be the most romantic day of the year! Yes, that's right, folks, today is February the 14th. And what day is February the 14th? Why, it's Valentine's Day, of course! That one day to really appreciate and celebrate the love between you and that special someone!"_ A brown haired woman gathered a few items from a shelf in her closet. _"If you planned to make a move on a lucky lady, fellas, today is the day to do it!"_ Cried out the anchorman, and a figure tiptoed down a hall of the Ketchum household. _"Why, on this day twenty years ago, I dropped down on one knee and proposed to the girl of my dreams! She turned me down, of course, but.."_ The woman could no longer hear the television as she cracked open a door to one of the rooms upstairs. She took a deep breath, and bursted into the room.

"Oh, Ash!" Came the excited, cheery cry of Delia Ketchum as the woman nearly broke down the door of her son's bedroom. Her son Ash, laying peacefully in his bed, stirred, and turned onto his back. "Mommy?" Five year old Ash Ketchum mumbled quietly, rubbing his eye while his other brown hue gazed sleepily up at his mother, who now stood beside his bed. The woman leaned over and gave her son a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie!" Mrs. Ketchum chirped happily, thrusting the items in her arms out for her son to take eagerly. Little Ash sat up and smiled. "Are these for me, Momma?" Ash asked, taking the items, and Mrs. Ketchum gave a happy nod. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "Oh, wow!" Came Ash's response.

Ash's mother had handed to him his presents for Valentine's Day this year, which consisted of a card, a box of heart-shaped chocolates, and a stuffed Wigglytuff toy that held a big red heart that said "I Love You!" Ash squealed happily and giggled, before looking to his mother. "Thank you, Mommy! I made you something!" He said, abandoning his presents in his lap and leaning over the side of his bed as his mother came to sit on the bed's edge. Ash reached as far as he could with his short little arms, and brought out a big card from underneath his bed. It was made of pink construction paper folded in half, and had a big red heart glued onto it's front and sloppy writing that said, "To the best momy in the world! From Ash!" Mrs. Ketchum smiled as her son handed her the card and she looked it over. "Oh, Ash!" She said thoughtfully, tears pricking her eyes. The brown haired woman noticed the misspelling of the word "mommy," on the card, but found it cute. Her son was only five years old, and she had noticed he did seem to have some trouble with spelling words that were meant to have double letters, like "mommy," or "little."

"Oh, sweetie, it's beautiful! Thank you!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed, placing the card in her lap and resting her hands on top of it as she looked to her son. "Are you ready to go run errands with me today?" She asked. Ash gave an eager nod. "Yeah!"

And so, after a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes, Delia Ketchum and her son Ash left home to go on an errand run. It was early in the morning, around eight, and Delia could imagine that they'd be doing errands until noon. Her son wanted to go over to Professor Oak's house later on to see his best friend, Gary, and wish him a Happy Valentine's Day, so she knew Ash would be a big helper with the errands today. He'd want them to get back home as soon as possible, surely. But for now, the little boy allowed himself to be led into Pallet Town's market by his mother. The young boy held his mother's hand as they headed down the road towards the market.

When they arrived to the little series of shops and stores that was the Pallet Town market, they both gasped in amazement as their senses were overtaken by the colors of red and pink and the scent of many, many flowers. The marketplace was decked out in decorations for Valentine's Day, with streamers everywhere and hearts. "Whoa," Ash muttered quietly, while Mrs. Ketchum gave something of a little giggle. "It's about time they started really celebrating on Valentine's Day!" She chirped. Delia gave a little tug on Ash's hand and the pair started the errands.

First, they went to The Flower Shop, where Mrs. Ketchum bought dozens of packs of flower seeds. She loved to garden and Ash usually liked helping her out whenever she asked him to. While Mrs. Ketchum was paying for the flower seeds at the counter, still holding her son's hand, Ash peeked around. His eyes stopped curiously on a boy handing a girl a big bouquet of roses. The girl gasped excitedly and nearly squealed as her hands cupped her face, before she took the flowers and gave the boy a kiss right on the lips. Little Ash blinked, eyeing the couple. "Come on, Ashy," Mrs. Ketchum cooed as she tugged on her son's hand, and he went with her willingly as she led him out of The Flower Shop and to the next place.

The next shop they visited was The Bakery. Mrs. Ketchum took forever deciding what kind of bread she wanted to use for dinner that night, and while she decided what kind to get her son looked around again. He swayed and twisted his body a little in boredom, the hand that wasn't holding his mother's hand clutching onto the bag of flower seeds his mother had just bought at The Flower Shop. The Bakery had a few sets of tables and chairs and a couple sat at a table nearby. They were sharing some cupcakes and as the boy got a little bit of icing on his lip the girl giggled and leaned across the table, kissing him. When she pulled back, Ash noticed the icing was gone. The five year old watched on, until his mother again pulled him off somewhere else.

And so this is how the next few hours went. Mrs. Ketchum pulled her son here and there, buying this or trading this for that. And everywhere he looked, Ash seemed to see people getting kisses. But not just kisses; people were getting kissed _on the lips._ His momma didn't kiss him like that; she always kissed his cheek. His best friend Gary never kissed him like that; he only kissed Ash when he had a booboo. But Ash wanted a kiss _just like that._

Finally, after hours of walking here and walking there, the Ketchums returned home and, after grabbing a gift he had for Gary for Valentine's Day, Ash was darting off towards Professor Oak's. His mother called for him to be home for dinner, and even though he didn't answer the woman knew he had heard her and retreated back into the house.

Ash tore off down the pathway between his house and Professor Oak's. He went as fast as his little five year old legs could take him and finally ended up at Professor Oak's doorstep, ringing the doorbell as he panted lightly. Professor Oak came to the door, opening it and peeking down at Ash with a great big smile. "Ah, Ash. Happy Valentine's Day," Said the Professor, and Ash smiled up at the old man. "Happy Valumtine's Day, Professor Oak!" Ash exclaimed. The professor chuckled lightly at Ash's mispronunciation.

Soon enough, Professor Oak had called his grandson Gary to the front door, and the Oak boy appeared holding a big stuffed Charmander in his arms. He smiled. "Hey, Ash, happy Valentine's Day," He greeted, though Ash was concentrating too much on the stuffed toy in his friend's arms to respond with the appropriate words. "Ohhh! Is that for me?" He asked, already bouncing up and down eagerly. Gary grinned. "Of course!" Ash squealed and took the Charmander, hugging it in a death hug. Then, he looked to Gary and smiled big. "I got you something, too! Here!" Ash held out a box to Gary, and the Oak boy took it and opened it. He grinned once more. "Cookies!" He looked to Ash. "C'mon, we can go and share 'em," He suggested. "Okay!" Ash giggled and bounded after Gary as the brunette turned and headed for the main room of his grandfather's house.

Moments later, after wolfing down the cookies, Ash and Gary sat on the couch in the main room. Ash was hugging his new Charmander toy close while Gary sat beside him, legs crossed and the remote in his hand. Right now they were watching a popular cartoon called Poké Pals! Ash looked away from the big television screen and glanced at Gary, before he looked down. The boy began to fidget in his seat.

"Hey, Gary?" Ash mumbled quietly, staring down at the fabric of the couch they were seated upon. His friend made a small, "Hm?" noise, though did not look away from the TV. Ash fidgeted again. "There's something else I want for Valumtine's Day," He stated quietly, and Gary looked to him. "Oh, yeah? What?" He asked curiously. "I want a..." Ash looked up to Gary. "I want a kiss on the lips!" Ash exclaimed. Gary went tense and stared at his friend for what seemed like hours.

"...You want what?" The brunette asked, sure he hadn't heard Ash right. The boy sitting beside him frowned. "I want a _kiss!_ Right here!" He said again, pointing at his lips this time. Gary's face flushed pink. "W-Well, whaddya want me to do about it?" He asked. "I want you to kiss me, of course!" Ash exclaimed, puckering up his lips and leaning towards Gary. Gary leaned away. "Are you crazy? I can't kiss you!" Gary rebelled. Ash stopped puckering his lips to frown. "Why not?" He asked, already sounding heart broken. "Because you're supposed to do that with someone you love!" Gary stated and it became clear that the two boys had two totally different takes on what Gary meant when he said love. Ash began to tear up.

"But... you do love me, don't you?" The little five year old said hopefully, tears welling up in his big brown hues as his bottom lip began to quiver. Gary frowned and it was his turn to fidget a little. "Of course I do," He mumbled. "So kiss me!" Ash exclaimed, leaning closer to Gary with his big teary eyes. "Or else you really don't love me..." The little boy said, clearly distraught as he gave a little sniffle. Gary bit his lip. "Okay! Okay!" He finally agreed, and quickly gave Ash a small peck on the lips. The little boy sat back in his seat properly and blushed, giggling happily. "Another!" He said, leaning back towards Gary a little. "No!" Gary refused, and it happened all over again. "But I thought you loved me...?" Ash mumbled, giving another little sniffle. "I do! I love you!" Gary insisted, giving a sigh and kissing Ash again. Ash giggled and squealed once more while Gary pulled back quickly, face heating up.

"I love you, too," Ash said innocently, causing Gary's eyebrows to raise as his eyes went wide and his face turned to a pure shade of scarlet. The color somehow seemed to darken as Ash leaned over a little bit more and _kissed Gary_ this time. The brunette gave a blink or two and watched Ash pull away and go back to watching cartoons happily, apparently satisfied.

Minutes later, little five year old Ash was tapped on the arm and when he looked over Gary gave him another peck on the lips. This time, however, it was all Gary's idea. Ash looked surprised at first, but soon giggled and hugged his Charmander close, looking back to the TV.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Oh, Ashhh~ There's your kisses! xD<p> 


	6. Playpen Punch Out

Story Summary: Mrs. Ketchum agrees to babysit a boy that gets into it with Gary. Rated K.

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><p><em>Playpen Punch Out<em>

_Ding dong. Ding dong._ chimed Delia Ketchum's doorbell as a woman stood just outside the front door, waiting. The woman had short, curly blonde hair and blue eyes, tan skin, and was dressed in a light blue dress suit. Her arms were currently around her son, twenty month old Charles, who she rested on her hip. The small boy had eyes and hair identical to his mother's.

Finally, after just a moment of waiting outside for an answer, Delia Ketchum opened the door. The woman's face lit up in a smile as she saw her neighbor there with her child. "Oh, Cinthia!" Delia chirped out in greeting. The blonde haired woman, Mrs. Cinthia Clearwater, smiled in return. "Hello, Delia," She said politely. Her son squirmed a bit. "Thank you for agreeing to watch little Charles today. Our regular babysitter came down with something," Mrs. Clearwater stated, smiling apologetically. "Oh, it's no problem." Delia assured, turning her brown hues to Charles, who's face was currently scrunched up and red as he reached for one of his mother's dangling earrings. Mrs. Clearwater made a bit of a face and craned her neck to the side, away from her son just as his little fingers were preparing to close in on her earring.

"Yes, well, I hope he isn't any trouble." Mrs. Clearwater said as she handed her son off to Delia. With the way she spoke, you'd think she was expecting her son to be some sort of problem for her neighbor. "I'm sure he won't be," Mrs. Ketchum said with a smile. Soon enough the blonde haired woman standing on the Ketchum's doorstep gave a small nod and departed. Delia was sure she had to work today. It was such bad luck that the Clearwater's usual babysitter was sick, but she supposed it was good luck that she had agreed to babysit Charles, at the same time.

"Okay, come on little guy," Delia cooed to the boy in her arms, who was still squirming like he had been in his mother's arms. Delia shut the front door and made her way into the living room, trying her best to hang onto the wiggling boy. "You want down, don't you?" She said, her breath hitching lightly as Charles wound some of her brown haired around his little hand and pulled. "Oh, now, now, Charles, let's not do that." She said, soon lowering the boy into a playpen set up in the living room, breathing a sigh of relief as she finally felt him let go of her hair. _Thank heavens,_ thought Delia, rubbing her head a bit. The young woman looked down into the playpen, where three pairs of eyes stared up at her. Yes, three.

Inside the playpen sat little Charles Clearwater, who seemed to be happy to no longer be held, and her own son Ash, as well as his friend Gary. All three of the boys were around the same age - all just a few months shy of being two years old. Oh, how time flew.

Giving a smile to the boys, Mrs. Ketchum crouched down. "Boys, meet Charles. He'll be here to play with you today," Mrs. Ketchum cooed to Ash and Gary, who looked puzzled. They'd never really met Charles before; the Clearwater family was fairly new in Pallet Town. They'd only lived there a month or so.

Gary and Ash both looked away from Mrs. Ketchum, moving their heads to stare at Charles on the other side of the playpen. He was playing with a ball. Seeing this, Gary started flailing his arms; the boy liked to play ball. Delia smiled, standing back to her full height as Charles rolled the ball Gary's way, and Gary rolled it back. _Well, I'm glad to see they get along,_ Delia thought with a smile, before she moved to head into the kitchen where she planned to make breakfast for them all.

Meanwhile, in the playpen, all three boys seemed to be getting along just fine. Gary and Charles both sat, legs spread apart and opposite each other, rolling the ball back and forth. Ash sat just a few inches away from Gary, close to his friend's side. He watched the ball being rolled back and forth. Every now and then, after receiving the ball, Gary would pass the round yellow ball off to Ash, who'd squeal happily and roll it to Charles. Charles always seemed to roll it back to Gary, though.

After a little while of watching his friend and new playmate, little Ash's brown eyes wandered away from the rolling ball. Looking beside him, at Gary, the little boy saw something sticking out from under Gary. He frowned a little and reached over.

Suddenly, Gary felt a tug under his butt and could hear a small, "Uh! Uh!" After receiving the ball one more time, letting his hands rest on it, he looked over to Ash. The small black haired boy was trying to pull a toy out from under Gary and the brunette finally thought to help his friend, shifting some. The toy came out from under Gary easily with the next tug Ash gave it. It was a Pikachu plushie. Ash squealed happily, holding it up by the tail before moving it around and hugging it close.

Gary seemed to smile now that his friend was happy and rolled the ball back to Charles, but it wasn't stopped by Charles' hands. Instead, the ball rolled as far as it could go between Charles' spread legs. Charles was eyeing the Pikachu toy.

"Pi..." Charles got out, leaning forward some and pointing at the plushie. Ash smiled, hugging his absolute favorite toy close for a moment before he leaned forward as well. The little boy, giggling happily, held the toy a bit closer to Charles for him to look at it. The blonde boy looked the toy over, making a little, "Ooh," to which Ash giggled again. Then, suddenly, Ash's hands were empty as Charles snatched the toy away by it's tail. "Uh?" Ash gave a blink and brought his hands back towards his body. The little boy blinked down at them, as if the toy had just disappeared into thin air. Then, he looked up to Charles, who was playing with the toy.

Little Ash, hanging onto the side of the playpen, got onto his feet shakily. He let go and proceeded to make his way across the pen. Once he got to Charles he took his Pikachu toy by the ear and tried to pull it, making a few straining sounds. Charles frowned as the toy was pulled at and pushed Ash back, causing the little boy to fall backwards onto his bum.

Tears welled up quickly in Ash's eyes and he gave a little sniffle, but the boy stood again. And again, he reached for the toy. Charles' face scrunched up and he held the toy away. His foot came out and he kicked at Ash's leg, causing the boy to fall all over again.

Hitting the bottom of the blue and yellow playpen again, Ash looked up at Charles and stayed where he was this time. Finally, he sat up, his legs crossing and his hands coming up to his face. The little hands balled into fists at his eyes and he started to wail loudly, causing both Gary and Charles to make faces at first. Charles scrunched up his face, while Gary's lips pulled into a frown. The brunette stood and wobbily made his way over to Charles.

Soon enough, Gary was reaching out and his hand was clasping around the Pikachu plushie's ear. Charles, who had seemed to pay Gary more mind from the get go, looked up to the boy briefly before he frowned. He pulled at the Pikachu, wanting it for himself. Ash's wails still ringing in his ears, Gary's face twisted into a pout and his little hand came up. "Uh!" went the boy as he swung. His little hand, balled up into a fist, connected with Charles' cheek.

The boy didn't break out into cries or wails. In fact, he looked up at Gary, surprised, before his face scrunched up into a look of anger. He let something of a loud, "Arrrr!" out, before he let go of the toy and jumped on Gary, who fell back with a thud. His body flopped a bit as he hit the bottom of the playpen, and the two soon started their own toddler wrestling match. They squirmed against each other, kicking and shoving and starting to scream.

While the two fought and fought, in the kitchen Mrs. Ketchum finally looked up from the stove and the eggs she was cooking for her own breakfast. "What on earth?" She murmured and quickly turned the stove off, slipping the pan she was cooking the eggs in onto a different, non-heated burner. She'd heard Ash crying a moment or two ago, but Gary usually stepped in to make Ash feel better. Not even at the age of two, and Gary already cared deeply about Ash's happiness.

Leaving the kitchen, Mrs. Ketchum ventured into the living room and gasped. "Oh, dear!" The woman exclaimed as she saw her son still bawling away in the playpen and the other two boys, Gary and Charles, having a full out brawl.

"Boys, boys, boys!" Delia cried as she ran over. The woman bent down and got her son out of the pen quickly just as Gary and Charles rolled that way. She was quick about putting her crying son in a nearby recliner, where he sat and continued to cry. From there, Delia focused on pulling the two fighting boys away from each other.

Mrs. Ketchum picked them both up and they both seemed to struggle. Charles, however, was the one who swung his fist up and hit her in the jaw. Charles got more violent, kicking at her and screaming. "Oh! Oh!" Delia exclaimed and put the two back in the pen quickly to stop the attacks sent her way. As soon as the two were back in the pen, however, Charles was back to trying to get at Gary. Mrs. Ketchum was quick to snatch the young Oak boy up. "Charles!" She scolded lightly. The boy continued to scream and kick, soon flopping onto his back and squealing like a pig as he thrashed around. _What a temper!_ Mrs. Ketchum thought as she rubbed Gary's forehead, which was reddening, before placing him in the recliner with Ash.

"Charles! Charles, stop it!" Said Mrs. Ketchum. The boy didn't stop however and when he did, he only sat up, grabbed the Pikachu plushie, and chucked it at Mrs. Ketchum. Delia dodged it quickly and it, by wonderful luck, landed in the recliner with Ash and Gary. Ash's cries stopped and in no time he was cuddling the toy. At some point while Mrs. Ketchum began trying to calm Charles, Ash looked to Gary with a blink.

Underneath Gary's bangs was red, where Charles had surely gotten him in the forehead. Ash pushed up Gary's bangs the best he could and planted a kiss, sort of wet, on his friend's forehead. Gary pulled away and made a face, his hand coming up to wipe his forehead as Ash started playing with his precious Pikachu plushie.

Delia, meanwhile, finally calmed Charles, giving him a toy to play with. She sighed in relief and looked to her son and his friend in the recliner, giving a relieved smile as she saw them sitting there quietly. Those two never gave her problems. Unlike this boy, it seemed. Now she understood why his mother had said something about hoping he didn't give her any trouble; this Charles boy had quite the temper.

"Alright, boys, let's get into the kitchen for breakfast." Mrs. Ketchum suggested and put Charles in a chair in the kitchen before anyone else. She didn't know if she trusted him with Gary again yet. They could get into it again, she knew. As she took each boy into the kitchen, Mrs. Ketchum couldn't help but wonder just what Gary and Charles were fighting about, anyway...

Hours later, sometime after lunch, Mrs. Clearwater came to pick up her son and, while Delia pretended everything had went fine, it's rather needless to say she never agreed to watch Charles Clearwater boy again. After his tantrum this morning he'd flung some small pieces of cereal everywhere, splattering milk across the floor and table as he did. At lunch he'd stolen Ash's food and at naptime he had absolutely refused to take a nap. The boy never stepped foot back into the Ketchum household again after that day, not as a toddler nor as a child, teen, or adult. And when they got older, Gary and Charles still seemed to dislike each other.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>This one had been in my mind for awhile~ Review, please!<p> 


	7. Rain Rain Go Away

Okay, so this is totally the first chapter for this in, like, two months. I've been distracted XD

I really debated what to call this. Had another name for it, but I decided that would expose what lies within to those who haven't already read it, and it'd be an epic spoiler. So... I went with "Rain Rain Go Away."

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ash, Gary, Delia, or anything from Pokémon.

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><p><em>Rain Rain Go Away<em>

_Drip. Pa-ploomp. Plop. Plop._

_Raindrops fell simultaneously to the earth, some hitting the muddy ground while others hit right into puddles, creating an uneven beat._

_The day was cloudy. Gray clouds hung high in the sky, barely distinguishable from the gloomy colored sky itself. Rain was already falling and a storm would be coming soon. Cold breezes swept across the terrain every now and again. Things weren't that bad yet, though. After all, two wandering children could handle these conditions._

"Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!" Sang young Ash Ketchum, age five and a half, as he purposely stepped into the rain puddles already forming on the ground with his bright yellow galoshes. He wore a matching yellow rain coat, the hood of rain protective rain gear pulled up to cover his little head.

"Pah-loshh!" Cried out Ash as he made a big leap, jumping into a large puddle and sending water flying everywhere. The boy squealed. He loved rain, mostly for the puddles. Only this kind of rain, though. If it got any harder Ash wouldn't be so happy and carefree. His companion and best friend, however, didn't like rain to begin with.

"Ash!" Came six year old Gary Oak's voice. Dressed in some small tennis shoes, pants, and a long sleeved shirt, the only thing he had to protect him from the rain was a blue umbrella he held above his head.

"Quit splashing!" The brunette scolded, causing Ash to glance back at his friend. A frown spread over Ash's face, but he quietly obliged. He knew Gary didn't like rain.

"M'kay..." Ash murmured quietly and grabbed a hold of Gary's hand. The only slightly paler hand, in return, closed around Ash's small hand. From then on, the two walked in silence, listening to the sounds of bushes being rustled as well as tree leaves, and the rain still making horribly uneven plopping sounds into the puddles around them, which Gary made it a point to go around.

Several minutes later, the rain had gotten a bit harder and the two boys were closer to their destination - the Ketchum house. They'd be there, soon.

_Ruuummbleeee._

A low rumble of thunder sounded overhead. Gary sped up, bringing Ash with him. The sooner they got to Ash's house, the better.

"Rain, rain, go away..." Ash quietly began to sing. "Come again another day..." There was a cold breeze and Ash shivered. He latched himself onto Gary's side and looked up at his friend.

"You gotta sing with me, Gary!" Ash exclaimed. He was a kid who still believed in the song, "Rain Rain Go Away," and it's power to, well, make the rain go away. Ash would believe in anything you told him.

Unfortunately, Gary wasn't like that. He knew a silly song wouldn't make the rain stop.

"I don't wanna sing, Ash." The brunette protested, rejecting the request. Ash frowned.

"But if you sing with me maybe he'll stop the rain!" The black haired, brown eyed boy exclaimed. Gary raised an eyebrow. "He?" He repeated. What he? The weather was usually said to be caused by _Mother Nature_, wasn't it? Gary didn't know if that was really true or not, but still, where was he getting a he from? Gary couldn't help but wonder.

He got his answer, however, when Ash jumped away from him and threw his arms up in the air. "The giant Blastoise in the sky!"

There was silence between them. Both had stopped walking, prolonging their arrival at Ash's house. Gary stood, staring at his friend and still holding the umbrella over his head to protect him from the falling rain, and Ash still stood in the same position, on his tip toes with his arms raised.

"...The giant Blastoise in the sky?" Gary repeated. Gary Oak was only six, but being raised around his grandfather, the great Professor Oak, he was much wiser than most kids his age. He knew the Boogey Man didn't exist. Neither did the Tooth Fairy or the monster in his closet. He still believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Clefairy, however; no one had dared to spoil those for him. Believing in those such things was too important in childhood to ruin. But what about this Blastoise that Ash was saying was giant and lived in the sky?

"Yeah! He's bigggg like this!" Ash stated, standing so tall on his tip toes with his arms stretched above his head that Gary almost worried he might topple over any second. "Three times bigger than a normal Blastoise!" He added in.

Gary continued to stare on, giving Ash a funny face.

"Uh-huh.. And what does this giant Blastoise have to do with the rain?" Gary asked, his curiosity being poked at at this point.

"He makes it rain, of course! He sits on a big, big cloud and his super cool cannons spray water everywhere! Duh!" Ash exclaimed to Gary, as if he knew some vital piece of information that Gary should have known, too, it was so obvious.

Gary stared.

Was this some story Ash's mother had told him, or could Ash have thought of it himself and convinced himself it was true? ...Or was it some sort of unspoken truth in general? What if there really was a giant Blastoise in the sky?

At that exact moment, Gary glanced up at the gray sky. Could a giant Blastoise really be sitting up on one of those gray clouds somewhere where he couldn't see, spraying water everywhere and making the rain fall? ...It couldn't be.

...But what if it was?

"Maybe if two of us sing he'll stop the rain sooner! C'mon, we have to try!" Ash exclaimed and quickly grabbed Gary's hand again.

"Rain, rain, go away!" He gave a big swing of his arm, pulling Gary's along, as he started skipping. "Come again another day!" He glanced at Gary, who was slightly stumbling behind him. "C'mon! Sing with me, Gary!"

The brown haired Oak boy bit his lip, but once he caught up with the skipping Ash - he refused to skip himself and settled for walking - quietly started to mumble.

"Rain, rain, go away.." Gary said quietly under his breath, hardly audible with the rain falling.

"Come again another day!" Ash sang much louder.

"Rain, rain, go away," Gary sang a tiny bit louder. "Come again another day!" Ash chipped in.

They walked like this for a while, singing, and Gary came to a conclusion very fast. The rain wasn't going away; more of it was _coming._ He didn't point this out to Ash, however. The boy was still skipping along, strong in his belief that their song would make the giant Blastoise in the sky that he was so sure was there stop the rain. Gary might question some of Ash's beliefs, but he hardly had the heart to crush them and turn them to dust.

By the time they had reached the house, the winds had died down, though the thunder had done the opposite and picked up. By this point even Ash had latched himself onto Gary and stopped singing. The rain was still coming down and Ash's wet rain coat pressed against him soaked Gary, but the house was very close so he didn't complain.

Reaching the mail box, Ash broke away from Gary and cried out for his mother. One of his galoshes accidently hit on the single step of the front step and he squeaked, stumbling. Mrs. Ketchum, however, opened the door right about then and he quickly composed himself, getting over his stumble. Neither boy noticed the rain starting to let up.

"Oh, Ash! It's about time you got home! You got out of school forever ago!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed, crouching down and hugging her son tightly. Ash had gotten out of school over an hour ago. There hadn't been anything about rain on the news and when it started raining Delia Ketchum could only be grateful she made Ash keep a pair of galoshes and a raincoat in his cubby at school, just in case.

Finished hugging her son, Mrs. Ketchum pulled back a bit and looked to Gary, who still stood just a step or two short of the doorstep.

"Oh, Gary, you're soaked!" She exclaimed. She, inwardly, noted that she didn't recall being told Gary would be coming over today after school. Had Ash not let her in on it or was she just forgetting? Gary came over so often... Not that she minded.

In truth, Gary wasn't supposed to come over today. He was supposed to go straight to his grandpa's lab. But when it started raining, well... He couldn't just leave Ash to walk home alone. No one knew how bad things might get! The image of Ash stumbling home in the rain alone had made a shiver run down Gary's spine when he'd first thought of it back at school.

"I'm fine," Gary assured. "Mommyyy! The Blastoise must be in a bad mood today!" Ash exclaimed to his mother. Her eyebrows raised, much the same way Gary's had when he'd first heard of Ash's Blastoise in the sky.

"Blastoise?" She repeated after Ash. The boy gave a dragged out sigh. "Come on, don't you guys know these things?" He whined a bit, referring to his mother and Gary. "I'll explain!" Ash exclaimed and ran on in out of the cold. His mother stared after him before glancing at Gary to see if he had some sort of explanation for what her son was talking about. Gary just gave a shrug.

Mrs. Ketchum turned to head in, beckoning Gary to follow her and leaving the door open for him. Stepping onto the door step, Gary slowly lowered his umbrella, closing it. It was at that moment that he heard the last _Plop. Plishh. Plo..._

The boy glanced out at the rest of Pallet. The rain was gone. His mouth fell open a bit.

Stepping back a bit, Gary glanced at the sky. It was as dark as ever, but the rain had stopped. He scowled.

"Why couldn't you make it stop when we were out in it?" He asked the sky, as if there really was a giant Blastoise sitting on a cloud up there like he said. He was just irritated, and he hadn't expected any sort of answer, but...

At that moment, there was a loud boom of thunder that topped all the booms and low rumbles of thunder he'd heard today. It eerily sounded like the battle cry of a Blastoise. Gary jumped out of his skin at the boom and, even though he still doubted the Blastoise was real, hurried inside, slamming the door behind him.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>


	8. Sick Day

...I had nothing better to call this xD I didn't think I'd like it at first, but by the end I did. I hope anyone that reads this likes it, too.

I'm working on another chapter of Palletshipping - one that was supposed to come out before this one. But meh...

I guess you could say this was right after the last chapter - _Rain Rain Go Away_. It wasn't meant to actually be, but meh. You could say it did, or not. The ages fit, anyway.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon. If I did it wouldn't have so many seasons, or Ash would _at least _be closer to finally being a Pokémon Master!

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><p><em>Sick Day<em>

"Uhhh..."

Five year old Ashton "Ash" Ketchum groaned out shakily as he shifted, eyes squeezed shut and head reeling.

He laid on his bed, wrapped up in his Charmander bed set, which consisted of sheets, a comforter, and pillow cases, of course. The boy was tucked in tightly; so tightly that he couldn't move his arms from his sides.

Ash's usually tan, slightly scarred cheeks were flushed red. His mouth hung open and he panted, unable to breathe through his nose. He opened his eyes. The room spun. And so he shut his eyes again.

He hated being sick. All the sneezing and having to wipe his nose before anything yucky dried under it or ran anywhere. Going into coughing fits and ending up with a sore throat. The way his head hurt like someone was hitting him in the head with one of his toys. And the _heat..._

"Gary! M'hot!" Little Ash exclaimed.

There came a grunt in reply from a bundle in the bedspread beside Ash.

Oh, did you think he was alone in his suffering? Well, no, he wasn't. You see...

Those who play together in the rain get sick together. And that's just what Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum had done just the day before.

They'd gone out. They'd played. And now some small virus was attacking both their bodies because of their young, careless behavior.

Gary usually didn't want to play in the rain, but when Ash had begged him to go outside with him, well... He just had to. He couldn't resist Ash forever.

Mrs. Ketchum had made them both wear rain gear, of course, but after they went outside it'd be wrong to say it stayed on.

Yep. Somehow Ash managed to slip out of his rain coat and kick off his galoshes, and Gary's had been tugged off of him by said bouncy little boy.

_"The rain'll feel good!"_ Ash had said. Oh, yeah. The rain had felt good.

But as far as Gary was concerned the feeling of the cool rain on their skin wasn't worth _this._ Laying in Ash's bed together, sick, with Mrs. Ketchum having quarentined them. She came up to check on them frequently, though she hadn't in a while.

Gary wanted to say she was downstairs making some kind of soup; the six year old could still smell just a bit. Smelled like chicken noodle...

"Gary! I said m'hot!" Came Ash's whining voice again. Gary scowled. His own face was red like Ash's, though with Gary's slightly paler skin tone the red blush on his cheeks seemed to burn brighter.

"So get out from under the covers! I'm cold," Gary rebelled. Maybe Ash was hot, but he was freezing.

"Can't!" Ash wiggled in the comforter, too expertly tucked in to get out on his own. Gary scowled.

"Stop moving. You're making me feel sick..." Gary mumbled, shutting his eyes. With Ash wiggling so close to him - right by his side - he felt like he was on a teeny tiny boat that was getting tossed around by some really violent waves.

Ash frowned and laid still, ceasing in his wiggling attempts at freedom from the burning blanket he was trapped under. He didn't want Gary getting sick - especially not _that_ way.

Since Ash couldn't move himself out, and Gary didn't seem to want to make a move to help him, Ash did the only thing he figured he could. He tilted his head back slightly and opened his mouth.

"Mama!"

The boy called for his mother, who was surely all the way downstairs in the kitchen. Gary winced.

"Don't yell! I have a headache, you dolt..."

Ash huffed and childishly stuck out his tongue. Gary didn't see it, though; his blue eyes were still squeezed shut.

_Mrs. Ketchum please come up here and do something about your son!_

It took a moment, but soon Ash's cries and Gary's prayers were answered. Both Ash and Gary looked towards the door.

The door opened and Mrs. Ketchum came in, dressed in a few garments that reminded Gary of a doctor. Over her mouth and nose she wore something like the mask that doctors wore during surgery, which Gary didn't know the exact name of. On her hands she wore a pair of bright pink rubber gloves.

...He noticed that, as he'd thought earlier, there were two bowls of soup in said glove covered hands. The smell of chicken noodle soup was strong in the room now, too. For Gary, at least.

Usually the boy would have been happy to be right, but right now he was just happy they had some food. Thankfully Ash hadn't been moving around enough to ruin Gary's appetite.

"Okay, boys! Some nice soup for you two!" Mrs. Ketchum greeted and headed over. She sat the two bowls of hot soup on the bedside table before turning towards the boys. Her hands headed for the comforter, tugging at it. Gary raised an eyebrow.

Had she known just how tightly she'd tucked them in? She'd definitely went straight to helping them out of the cloth prison...

The blanket became loose and Ash sat up, giving a big gasp and happy to be free from the burning heat of the blanket. While Ash eagerly embraced the feeling of the cold air on his bare arms, Gary shied away from it, burrowing himself further into the bed and under the covers.

"Come on, Gary," Mrs. Ketchum cooed gently and made the boy sit up. He shivered.

"Soup will help you get better faster. It's a fact proven by moms all across the world!" She beamed. Gary resisted the urge to huff like Ash would.

He didn't_ want_ to sit up and be cold! But he had to to eat, so he supposed he'd have to... For the sake of getting better soon.

Mrs. Ketchum soon handed one bowl off to Gary, who she knew wouldn't be able to reach the bowl once she left because the bedside table was on Ash's side. She made sure to tell Ash to get to eating his soon, and left.

Gary slowly started eating. The bowl was sort of hot in his hand, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Ash, however, was a different story.

The little black haired boy picked up his bowl from where his mother had sat it on his bedside table, and immediately gasped.

As soon as the bowl was in his hands he screamed and dropped the bowl. The soup spilled onto his beloved Charmander bed set and, as Ash felt the piping hot liquid rush through the cloth of his comforter, he yelped and made a dive towards Gary.

The brunette gasped and, as Ash tackled him from the side, he fell over and off the bed. Ash fell on top of him, and soon Gary felt a burning tingle in his side. There was a loud bang and a groan, though Gary was sure it didn't come from him.

_"Ash!"_

Said small little boy had started to rub his head, but stopped and gasped. Ash scrambled to get off Gary, hitting the floor beside his fallen friend. Gary sat up quickly, hands patting at his soaked shirt. His own soup had spilled right onto his shirt and was currently soaking through the cotton garment, burning his skin.

Gary shoved the bowl away - thankfully it was plastic and didn't shatter - and lifted his shirt.

The paleish skin of his stomach was turning red. And quickly.

Ash gasped. "M'sorry Gary! Here! Lemme blow on it!" The little boy quickly got on his hands and knees near Gary and leaned his head down towards Gary's stomach. He blew at the red skin with all his might, which proved to be a bad idea quickly because Ash ending up panting worse than he was and feeling lightheaded.

Gary made it a point to reach over and whack him upside the head. "Idiot."

Sitting back onto his knees slowly, Ash frowned.

"We gotta get my mom.." He mumbled. Gary scowled.

"Don't you dare scream for her again. It hurts my ears." He said as he climbed back onto the soaked bed. With all this sudden excitment - if you could call it that - his head was throbbing and he felt sort of dizzy.

Gary plopped down on his back on the wet bed, eyes squeezed shut. Ash blinked.

"Gary?" Just what was Gary doing?

"...Come up here and sleep."

Ash raised an eyebrow. Sleep? On a _wet_ bed? Was he crazy?

"But it's wet! Eek!" Ash squealed as Gary reached down and, sick or not, was able to pull him onto the bed.

With Ash having fallen off the bed with Gary on Gary's side, the brunette had to pull his slightly smaller, slightly younger friend all the way across his body back to his side of the bed, but even in his sickness he managed it.

Once Ash was back in his rightful place on the bed beside Gary, he made the five year old lay.

Laying on his back staring at his bedroom ceiling, which was amatuerly painted sky blue with white spots for clouds and some midocre paintings of flying Pidgeys, Ash squirmed some.

The wet cloth felt funny against his back. It didn't really burn anymore, but... It felt... Weird. Like he'd peed the bed...

...He hadn't, of course! Ash hadn't peed the bed in forever! Since he was four!

...It was a long time to a five year old who was proud of going so long without an accident.

Either way, it felt funny to lay willingly on wet cloth, and Ash glanced over at Gary, wondering why his friend didn't seem to mind. He looked... tired. Maybe he was just too tired to care about how uncomfortable this was?

...Whoa. Gary was tough! Not caring about sleeping on a wet bed... And in a wet shirt, at that!

"Gary... M'sorry..." Ash mumbled and slowly moved close to Gary's side. He curled his body up beside Gary's, who grunted lightly.

"S'fine,"

The two laid there quietly for a while. Gary looked like he was trying to sleep. Ash was glancing around, however. Now that things had calmed, he was much more aware of his ill feelings. The room was back to spinning, or perhaps it always had and he'd just not paid it much mind, and he coughed a bit. A shooting pain shot through his head and he winced.

Minutes had passed and Gary Oak had just slipped into the more than welcomed embrace of sleep when he felt a tug on his arm.

"G-Gary..." Ash's voice mumbled from beside him, sounding small and meek.

"Hm?" Gary hummed sleepily, slightly irritated. He'd just been getting to sleep...

"My head hurts..." Gary glanced at Ash.

"It hurts?" He repeated. Ash gave a nod.

"I think I hit it when we fell..." Ash mumbled, rubbing at a spot underneath his black bangs. Gary frowned, slowly sitting up. He felt bad himself, but he, always the good friend towards the younger boy, felt a bit concerned.

"On what?" He asked. Ash shook his head a bit and winced again.

His frown deepening into his face, Gary looked off to his left, to see if there was anything Ash could have hit his head on.

A toy rocking Torros sat just beside the bed.

_He must have hit his head on that..._ Gary thought to himself.

"Gary..."

He glanced back at Ash, who was tearing up.

"It hurts..."

Gary carefully reached forward and brushed Ash's bangs away.

...Ow. That was one nasty bump on Ash's forehead. Had that really happened when they'd fallen? ...And to think Gary had scolded Ash just for making him spill soup on himself.

"Does it look b-bad?" Ash asked after noticing Gary staring at his head.

"A little."

Ash frowned and sniffed.

"I think you need to stay awake, Ash." Gary stated. He was only six, but he knew that when someone had a bump on their head they needed to stay awake. He wasn't sure why.

"...Will you stay up with me Gary?" Ash asked.

...Oh, right. Someone usually had to stay up with them, right? Gary bit his lip, before sighing.

"Uh-huh. I will, Ash."

Ash smiled weakly. "Yay..." He mumbled.

Gary slowly sat Ash up against the headboard, sure that he'd be less likely to fall asleep that way. He sat up beside him.

"Gary... Will you tell me a story?" Ash asked. Gary chanced a glance over at the boy.

"Uh..."

He wasn't too good at stories.

"Please?"

There was a sigh. He couldn't resist Ash.

"...Fine."

"There... Once was a..." He glanced at Ash again. "A... Pikachu,"

"Who always caused trouble. Made a mess of things. One day it..." He paused again. Geez, this was hard. Ahh...

"...It made it's friend, Mr... Raichu, go out and play in the rain."

This story had a lot of pauses for Gary to think already, but Ash seemed to be hooked.

"Yeah?" Ash piped, now looking at Gary with a look that was a little less pain-filled. That was good.

"So what happened?" Ash asked, curious. Gary sucked in a breath.

"Well... Mr. Raichu didn't really like rain. But he went with the little Pikachu anyway. They played and ended up having a lot of fun, but the next day they both got sick." There was a audiable gasp.

"Really? What'd they do?" Ash exclaimed, obviously not realizing where Gary was getting this story from. Gary eyed his friend, who was leaning closer to him, before continuing.

"They stayed in and felt bad together. The Momma Pikachu tried to bring them some really good berries to eat, but the little Pikachu accidently dropped them all over the floor. They couldn't eat the berries then, 'cause the Pikachu was lazy and never cleaned his room."

Okay, so he'd gotten around to switching the story some for the sake of relating it to pokémon.

"Did they starve?" Ash asked. Gary shook his head.

"They were both pretty plump. They could wait a while before eating again. Even if the berries were supposed to make them get better super fast. They laid around and rested awhile, until they started telling stories."

And so the story did a full turn and went to being about humans.

"What did they tell stories about?" Ash asked, intrigued.

"Well, Mr. Raichu started telling the Pikachu a story about two little boys." Gary stated. "Who, like them, went out and played in the rain."

Ash tilted his head. "Did the two little boys get sick, too?" He asked. Gary nodded. "Oh, yeah."

"And one of the little boys was so unlucky. He ended up getting stuck at the other little boy's house with him. His friend's mom brought some soup up and it ended up getting spilled all over them and the bed after the smaller boy was a total klutz."

Ash's eyebrows raised.

"The little Pikachu was really liking the story, so Mr. Raichu kept going. He told him about how the youngest boy ended up with a booboo on his head, and how the older one stayed up and told the little boy stories like he was telling the little Pikachu."

...When exactly had Gary backed the story back up to them and their situation? He'd hardly noticed.

Ash, at this point however, had totally gotten it all.

"Gary? ...Did the two little boys get better in the end? And what about the Pikachu and the Raichu?" Ash asked, sitting back a bit now.

Gary smiled and reached up. A hand carefully placed itself on Ash's head, ruffling his hair lightly.

"Oh, yeah. They all got better. And the little boy's head even got better. He was a lot stupider afterwards, though." Ash gasped.

"Hey!"

It was clear that even slow, five year old Ash Ketchum had related the story to them at this point. Gary snickered and leaned forward, sweetly kissing Ash's head - something he kind of did a lot behind closed doors, though he'd never tell anyone else. He was only six, but he had pride and a reputation as the cool Oak kid to uphold!

After the kiss, Ash giggled lightly and smiled. "Gary?"

"Hm?"

"...I feel a little better already."

"Me, too."

"And you know what?"

Gary eyed Ash. "What?" A big grin broke out across the boy's face.

"My momma might think soup is good for getting rid of colds, but I think stories are great, too."

He reached forward and hugged Gary's waist.

"But next time can I be the Raichu?" He asked hopefully.

"Ha. No." Gary objected. As if he'd let Ash be something as cool as a Raichu when he could be it. Ash pulled back and his mouth fell open. He closed it, then opened it again, before huffing. Gary grinned.

"Fine! Pikachu's are cuter, anyway!" Ash said and huffed once more, turning away with his back to Gary childishly and crossing his arms, nose stuck up in the air and legs crossed indian style.

Gary snickered lightly. "Yeah," He smiled. "They sure are."

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><p><strong>THE END<strong>

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><p>I thought the ending was really cute. Kind of makes it seem like Gary has a little crush on Ash which, in my mind, he always will xD Review?<p> 


	9. Let's Get Married!

New Palletshipping Chapter! Finally! :D I've only promised, like, three that I didn't go through with xD Oops.

Anyway, from here on out I'll probably be putting up a few chapters of them older (well, 8-10/11-ish). That's older, yeah? They're four, in this one. There had to be errors in grammar and spelling on Ash's part; it helped give him the cuteness factor~

Anyway, I hope you like this one and I'll be posting any new chapters that are coming up on my profile, so keep looking! Thanks! -Love, PuddinPie~

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><p><em>Let's Get Married!<em>

_Pidgey! Pidgey! Pidgey!_

A Pidgey-inspired coo-coo clock cried out as the big hand of the clock, which hung on the wall of the kitchen of Delia Ketchum, struck ten. It was early on a Saturday morning and Mrs. Ketchum sat in a chair at the kitchen table. One leg crossed over the other, she was holding the home phone to her ear.

"Oh, so you finally got married! I'm so happy for you!" Delia chirped, speaking with a friend who had moved from Pallet to Viridian City a few months before and, just a day before, had gotten married at the tender age of twenty-six. Mrs. Ketchum loved to hear about weddings, especially when she knew the bride and groom on a personal level.

"Oh, I know! It really is a match made in heaven!" The brown-haired woman laughed and gave a few small nods of her head, her foot not resting on the recently swept kitchen floor kicking a bit under the table. She was subconsiously cautious with her kicking foot; her son Ash and his best friend Gary were playing under the table. She didn't know what they were doing, but they were being awfully quiet, so she supposed she'd need to peek under the table cloth soon and see what they were up to. That could wait a moment or two, though.

"Uh-huh... Uh-huh..." Mrs. Ketchum listened to her friend on the other end of the phone call as the woman explained what the wedding was like. So lost in the conversation, she didn't even think that the two little boys under the table would become interested, too.

Meanwhile, under the table, four year olds Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak sat on the white-tiled floor. Gary sat cross-legged while his slightly younger friend had his legs spread out. Each boy had a deck of PokéPower trading cards spawled out on the floor in front of them, with a few select cards in each of their hands.

"I'll trade wu a Ga-loom for your Char-i-zard," Little Ash offered his friend, holding out his Gloom trading card. Gary glanced at it briefly, but the boy, one to know a lot about pokémon even at such a young age due to his grandfather being a pokémon professor, shook his head. He didn't want that card.

"No way! If I get anything for my Charizard it's gonna be your Dragonite!" The Oak boy exclaimed, refusing to take such a boring card and demanding a better one. Little Ash gasped.

Brown eyes darting down to the floor where his beloved Dragonite trading card laid right beside his Cubone one, Ash quickly snatched up the card as if Gary would reach out and take it. "No! Dat one's my fa-vor-ite!" The little boy cried. Gary scowled.

"Yeah, but Charizard is one of my favorites, so it'll be a fair trade." The brunette insisted. Ash pursed his lips, pouting. "If it's your fa-vor-ite, why do you wanna trade it for sumthin' else?" The boy asked, deciding that if Gary wanted to trade his Charizard for another card then the older boy must not have liked the card enough for it to be his favorite.

"Why do you want to trade Dragonite if it's your favorite, then?" Gary retorted, turning the tides - or maybe a better phrase would be "turning the trading cards," for at just that moment he placed his Charizard PokéPower trading card down on the floor, face down, and did the same with the other two cards in his hands. Gary crossed his arms. "M'not taking a Gloom, Ash."

Little Ash pouted once more and stuck out his tongue as far as he could, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. As his tongue retreated and his eyes reopened, there was a loud squeal. Ash jumped a little and moved the seven or so cards in his little hands to go flying in all directions.

"Oh, you two are such a good couple! And to think you met back in junior high! Hehe... I bet you'll be together forever!" Mrs. Ketchum sang happily to her friend on the phone. Little Ash blinked at Gary, who shrugged, before the little boy moved the table cloth.

A little hand holding the white table cloth up, Ash's small black head poked out from under the table. "What'chu talking about, mommy?" The four year old asked.

Mrs. Ketchum peeked down at her son and smiled. "Miss Tawny got married, sweetie. Now she's a Mrs," The woman told her son, sure the boy probably didn't understand the difference but figuring it would satisfy him. She clearly knew her son well, because he gave a blink of his large brown orbs and a small, "Oh," before he ducked back under the table.

Ash back in hiding under the table with Gary, Mrs. Ketchum resumed her conversation, while down below the two little boys forgot about their trading card dispute.

"Gawee, what does Mrs. mean?" Ash asked, legs spread out and hands resting on his pile of cards in front of him. Gary looked at his friend. "I dunno," For once he really didn't know. Gary Oak had never been too interested in marriages and he probably never would be. Ash frowned and placed a finger on his chin, thinking. His momma had said earlier that Miss Tawny was gonna be with the person she married forever, didn't she? Did that mean that after you got married you'd always be by the person you married's side? Ash's head tilted.

The little boy looked straight ahead to find his best friend looking over one of his cards. "Gawee," The brunette glanced up at the sound of his name. Little Ash made a hand gesture for Gary to follow him and started to crawl out from under the table. Gary raised a brown eyebrow, but followed.

"Uh-huh... Uh-huh.. Uh-huh! Uh..." Mrs. Ketchum glanced over as her son came darting out from under the table, his best friend Gary soon following. She gave a giggle, supposing the two had thought of a new game to play, and looked away. "Yeah, I'm still here," She assured her friend, who had apparently become concerned after she hadn't finished her eleventh or so "Uh-huh," of the conversation.

Ash and Gary didn't go far. In fact, Ash ran straight into the living room and spun around, Gary having to come to a quick stop to avoid smashing into his friend. Ash stood there, looking at Gary, for a good ten or twelve seconds, and finally Gary frowned. "What?" He questioned, hands on his hips. What had Ash wanted him to follow him for?

Ash's face suddenly lit up and the little boy's small hands balled into fists as he eagerly said, "Let's get me-weed!" while hopping up and down once or twice. Gary's eyebrows raised. "You wanna get married?" Gary asked to clarify. Ash nodded his head quickly. Gary stared at his friend. "Why?" He questioned. Ash let out a big sigh of impatience.

"'Cause then we'll be to-get-ther for-ev-er!" The little boy squealed excitedly, absolutely thrilled at the thought of spending forever with his very best friend. Gary stared at Ash once more, blue eyes unblinking. Get married - to Ash. Be together forever - with Ash.

"...Okay," Gary agreed. Ash squealed.

Then he grabbed his older friend's hand and dragged him upstairs, where he pulled literally every article of clothing out of his dresser drawers and threw most of them on the floor, hanging onto mostly pokémon themed clothes. Gary watched the boy from the doorway as he, apparently, picked out their outfits.

Little Ash ended up chucking a Charmander pajama shirt, a pair of his own Bellsprout tightie-whities, and a hat that looked suspiciously like it was made out of a Muk - though it wasn't - at his friend. Gary caught the hat and underwear, though he failed to get a free hand to catch the pajama shirt. He stared at the clothes for a moment, until Ash, who was already pulling on a Pikachu shirt, said, "C'mon! Get dwessed!"

Gary eventually complied, slipping on the shirt that was a sliver too small and placing the hat on his spiky haired head. He slipped on the tightie-whities, right on up over the blue pair of pants he wore. The Oak boy looked at himself in a full-body mirror right beside Ash's door and found he looked silly. But he glanced at Ash in the background of the reflected image, who was sporting the Pikachu shirt from before, a pair of Squirtle swimming trunks, a Bulbasaur scarf and one lone Butterfree sock on his right foot, and he laughed. Ash looked at Gary and his cheeks puffed out then practically deflated as he huffed. Gary smiled.

"Okay! Let's go to da cewamony!" Ash exclaimed and grabbed Gary's hand, running back downstairs. Gary allowed himself to follow suit.

When they got into the living room, Ash turned to Gary. "...Now what?" The little boy asked as he shuffled his feet, clearly unsure of what exactly happened next at weddings after the two people got dressed. Gary thought briefly.

"We need a pastor, or someone to say all the stuff." The brunette stated. Ash blinked. "Stuff? Can't we say it?" The boy pouted. "I wanna say it!"

"Okay, okay! No pastor - we'll say it. So, uh..." The brunette fidgeted a little. "Ash..." He began, reaching forward and taking the little boy's hands. He didn't know what to say, but there was clearly something Ash wanted him to, because the little boy leaned forward with big, shining brown eyes and said, "Yessssss?" Gary almost wanted to shy away because he was so unsure of what he was supposed to say. He'd only been to one wedding in his four years of life and he barely remembered it; he'd been three and three quarters.

"Uh... You're my best friend and I'm marrying you 'cause I wanna be with you forever." Gary said, face flushing. Ash giggled and smiled, tilting his head to the side as he asked, "Why?"

Gary very nearly flinched.

"Why? Whaddya mean why? I told you why - 'cause I wanna be with you forever." Gary said, repeating the last part of his little declaration.

"Well, yeah, but whyyyy? How come you wanna be wif me?" Ash urged. Gary gulped. "W-Well.. 'cause... you know... We've been friends for a while and I... Kind of sort of like you." Gary's face had to be ten shades of red by now. Ash smiled.

"You like me?" The little boy asked. Gary nodded. "Uh-huh."

Ash gave a happy giggle and took his hand's back from Gary. He wrapped his short little arms the best he could around his friend, giggling. "Well, I wuff you, Gawee!" Ash declared happily, clearly not at all worried or nervous like Gary had been. The older of the two four year olds felt himself smiling and he wrapped his arms around Ash, too.

"I love you, too, Ash." Gary said, causing Ash to giggle. "Yay!" The boy squealed, pulling back and taking Gary's hand. "Now gif me my wing!" The four year old said happily, holding out his other hand.

"...Ring?" Gary repeated. Ash nodded. "I... Don't have a ring for you, Ash. You ran us in here without letting me find one upstairs," Gary stated. Ash looked up at his friend and immediately the little boy's eyes started to tear up.

"But I gotta haf a wing! That makes this o-fwi-shal!" Young Ash Ketchum cried out, sniffling already. Gary frowned deeply as the little boy hiccuped. "Hey, hey... Hang on. I can get you a ring! And I'll get you one for me, too, okay?" He said, making the assumption Ash didn't have a ring for him, either. Little Ash, who was wiping his left eye, hiccuped again and nodded. Gary took off for the kitchen.

Mrs. Ketchum had just gotten off the phone with her friend and was still sitting at the kitchen table when young Gary Oak came rushing into her kitchen, dressed in clothes she knew belonged to Ash and saying something like, "Gotta get a ring, gotta get a ring." The woman looked at the boy as he ran to the Ketchum's pantry and opened it, reaching onto the lowest shelf - and the only one he could reach, really - and pulling a box of Poké-O's off the shelf.

Delia watched as Gary opened the box and, rather selectively, reached in and pulled out two single Poké-O's - which were really just little tan O's. Gary took the two pieces of cereal and left the box on the floor, running back into the living room. Mrs. Ketchum raised an eyebrow. "What in all Pallet's name..." The woman moved to pick up the box, picking it up, closing it, and placing it back on the bottom shelf of the pantry.

In the living room, Gary handed Ash one of the Poké-O's, who lit up like the sun at the sight of their "rings" and still hiccuped slightly from time to time. He took the ring and soon Gary was taking his hand.

"Okay, Ashy-Boy, here's your ring." Gary declared as he slipped the piece of cereal onto Ash's right ring finger - hey, hey, Gary didn't know much about weddings - and the little piece of cereal was actually just big enough to fit around Ash's thin finger.

Little Ash looked at his ring finger and squealed. "It's boo-de-ful!" The little boy exclaimed. Right about then his mother walked into the living room to investigate Gary's strange behavior. The woman stopped in the doorway as Ash took Gary's hand, putting the ring on not even Gary's ring finger, but instead his index finger. Gary didn't say a word about it and smiled. "And there's your's!" Ash exclaimed happily, giggling. Gary's smile widened.

"Having fun, boys?" Mrs. Ketchum asked as she walked further into the living room, approaching the two boys. Ash turned to her, saw his mother, and gasped. "Mommy! Me and Gawee got me-weed!" The little boy cried out happily and ran for his mother, flinging himself onto her legs. A hand rested on Ash's head and Mrs. Ketchum blinked before giggling. "Aww, how cute!" She gushed and bent down.

"Can I see your ring?" Mrs. Ketchum asked. Ash smiled and, rather proudly, held up his hand for her to see the small piece of cereal around his ring finger. Mrs. Ketchum examined it, smiling.

"It's pwetty, isn't it?" Ash insisted, causing his mother to nod. "Oh, yes," Delia agreed. The brown-haired woman reached forward and took her son's hand, bringing it to her lips. "Tasty, too," she said, biting the Poké-O and, ultimately, causing it to crumble while taking the small piece she'd bitten into her mouth, swallowing it and not having to chew. Ash gasped.

"Wedo! Wedo da cewamony! Da wing has been eated!" Ash started screaming, causing Mrs. Ketchum to laugh. "Oh, it's okay, sweetie. There's plenty of back-up rings for the two of you," She assured her son, referring to the box of Poké-O's that was nearly full in the pantry. The woman peeked around her son to Gary, smiling. "Isn't that right, Gary?"

The Oak boy blushed lightly, but smiled. "Yeah, but I don't think I want Ash to have a ring, afterall." He decided. Ash turned to look at him, a frown adorning his cute little face. Mrs. Ketchum looked surprised and rather curious. "Oh? Then what do you want him to have?" She questioned.

She didn't get an answer right away, for Gary went running into the kitchen. He came back a few seconds later with a card in his hand. Ash gasped. "Char-i-zard!" The little boy squealed as Gary approached him, holding it out. "Take this, Ash," Gary smiled. "You can even keep your Dragonite." He said. Ash took the card slowly and looked it over. He looked up at Gary with wide brown hues and, finally, a smile broke out on his face.

Ash squealed happily and threw his arms around Gary, causing the Oak boy to stumble backwards a little. "Thanks, but I fink maybe you can haf my Dra-gon-ite, after all!" He declared. Gary smiled, hugging Ash back and giving a small, "M'kay," in agreement - hey, he wasn't going to miss out on getting that Dragonite card if Ash was offering it - while Mrs. Ketchum giggled. "Such silly boys," She mumbled quietly under her breath, watching as Ash and Gary went running off into the kitchen, more than likely to crawl back under the kitchen table and resume their card trading.

Gary got Ash's Dragonite as soon as they crawled back under the table. Gary smiled, taking it, and the Oak boy was examining the card when Ash said his name. Looking up, Gary immediately saw Ash closing in on him as the little boy leaned forward. The next thing he knew he felt a warm pair of lips on his. Gary's face lit up like a red light.

Pulling back, Ash giggled. "I fink we forgot that part," he said and smiled happily. Looking at his friend, a smile slowly broke out on Gary's face. "I guess so. Good thing you remembered, yeah?" He praised. Ash giggled. "Uh-huh!"

And so, the two four year olds resumed trading their PokéPower trading cards and, truth be told, after that Saturday morning their "marriage" would be forgotten until years later, when an older Ash Ketchum would come across the precious Charizard trading card he'd been given while rummaging through his messy room and, on the other side of Pallet, Gary Oak would come across the Dragonite card he'd been given while packing things that he now considered "baby-ish," into boxes.

Ash would smile and tuck the card into his back pocket, straighten his hat, and go back to looking for another sock. Gary would roll his eyes, smiling as he remembered the memory faintly, and hold the card in between his index and middle fingers as he packed the rest of his Poké Power trading cards away into the attic, where they would sit and gather dust forever.

Some memories don't come back to the light until years later, but they stay as precious as they were when the memory was made.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Okayyyy, what did you think of Chapter 10? I liked this one - it was fun to write :D Review?<p> 


	10. Pallet Poké Palooza

Oh me, oh my. I went from childhood oneshots for these two to them as teens(13-14). I really hope this doesn't suck epically...

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKéMON.**

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><p><em>The Pallet Poké Palooza<em>

_Nido! Nido! Nido!_

A man in a suit and top hat stood in the middle of a make shift wrestling arena, his hand holding a microphone up to his mouth as a crowd cheered wildly, rooting for their favorite of the two competing pokémon.

"Come one, come all! See the amazingly strong Machamp take on it's arch rival, the rock foe, Graveller!" The man yelled, causing the crowd to really roar. Everyone yells excitedly and somewhere in the gathered crowd two men get into an argument about the winner-to-be and get into a fist fight.

_Pidgey-o! Pidgey-o! Pidgey-o!_

A little boy tugged at his mother's hand, pointing at a small cart where a man stands giving out pokémon balloons. He wiggled where he stood.

"Mommy, can I get a Squirtle balloon? Pleasseeeee?" The boy begged. His mother sighed, giving a small, "Okay, okay, dear." while she tried to keep a grip on her other child's hand, who was squirming to get away and go explore the festival.

_Belllllll-sprout. Belllll-sprout._

A small Bellsprout stood, head tilted to the side, as it watched everyone race right past it's poor owner's small magic act, settled on the stoop of an old store. The man, shaggy looking and old, sighed.

"It's all about fancy inflatables and complex gizmos now, ol' Bell. No one cares for the classic attractions," He mumbled, shuffling a deck of cards. Ol' Bell looked to the man, then looked away, staring at a pair of boys walking past.

Pallet's Poké Palooza has begun.

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><p>The air is filled with thousands of sounds, from the precious <em>Chu!<em> of small electric rodents to the calling of, "Hot dogs here! Get your hot dogs!" being yelled by a small hot dog vender who was manning a worn out hot dog stand.

Today is the 3rd of May - best known in Pallet Town as the day of the annual Pallet Poké Palooza. The day had no special meaning to it; it was just a day to have fun. Every year in Pallet a big festival was held and, as the title of the big event in the small town might suggest, the festival was always centered around pokémon. Big pokémon, small pokémon. The super fast and super slow. The ones who were fierce and looked it and the ones that you wanted to cuddle. This was a day for pokémon and people alike. The Pallet Poké Palooza was the offical holiday of little old Pallet Town.

Down the crowded dirt roads of Pallet, which were packed with stands, people, and attractions, a blue-eyed brunette walked along. He was wearing a green tanktop that complimented him well and tan cargo shorts. On his feet were brown sandals and around his wrist was an almost feminine and childish best friend bracelet.

The brunette's stormy blue hues scanned over the attractions. Some looked flashy and fun, but many stands and carts where things were being sold were worn down and old. The boy recognized the individual stands well, just as he recognized the familiar faces standing by them. Most of the people who took part in selling things during the festival and sponsoring the attractions for this event were people who the boy had known since childhood. Most were much older than him in age, but that hardly mattered. They were old friends and neighbors.

As he stared at a little boy who was crying loudly at a popped, deflated Squirtle balloon, his mother looking anxious and a bit annoyed as she tried to hang onto her apparent other child and still comfort the sobbing boy, he felt a tug on his hand. The brunette turned his head.

"Uwahh! Look, Gary!" Came the excited cry of Ash Ketchum, age thirteen and a half. The black-haired, brown-eyed firework was clad in a light blue tanktop that had a big A on the front in white, for Ash. He wore shorts similiar to his friend fourteen year old Gary Oak's, though his were dark blue in color. On his feet were black sandals and around his wrist was, low and behold, a best friend bracelet that perfectly matched the one around the brunette's wrist. For once the teen didn't have a hat on, but his trusty Pikachu was still on his shoulder, holding onto it's master's head excitedly.

Before the brunette knew it the other boy was letting go of his hand and bending down beside a small attraction on the side of the dirt road they walked on. An old elderly woman sat in an old chair and, in a small fence, were little black and yellow furballs. As Ash scooped one up and he got a better look Gary recognized it easily as a Pichu.

"It's so cute!" Ash exclaimed, laughing as the little Pichu's tongue darted out of it's mouth and the pink muscle lashed at Ash's scarred cheek, licking the boy. Pikachu left it's usual post on Ash's shoulder, Gary noted - hopping down into the fence and engaging the smaller rodent pokémon in friendly conversation, it seemed.

"He's so small, too! I guess he's really just a baby, huh, Gary?" Ash said, looking at his friend. Gary smiled. "Well, of course, Ashy-Boy. Look at him," Gary answered.

The little Pichu was definitely a baby. While it was of course true that when it came to the electric rodent evolution scheme the Pichu was the baby of the trio, looking at this small Pichu one could tell it was _really_ a baby. The small pokémon could almost fit right into Ash's cupped hands.

Gary was still watching Ash and the Pichu when suddenly the small pokémon turned it's little furry head and looked at him. Upon seeing the brunette it reached out, beginning to make noises that neither boy knew a Pichu _could_ make. _Pattatu! Pichiacu!_

"I think he wants you, Gary," Ash said with a laugh and, next Gary knew, Ash was handing off the small pokémon to him without his permission first. Gary frowned a little, but took the Pichu and, once it latched onto him, he smiled. Ash giggled. "Aw, he likes you!" The black-haired boy exclaimed. Gary smirked.

"Well, of course, who doesn't? With these dashing good looks of mine and these brains, everyone loves me!" The Oak boy declared and his smirk grew as he leaned towards his friend. "Right, Ashy-Boy?" He asked teasingly. Ash's face flushed. "Um.. Well..." The boy suddenly looked anxious. Gary grinned.

It was no secret Ash liked Gary. It never had been, really. The fact that Gary liked Ash back had been a bit of a better kept secret for several years, though - mostly between the ages of nine and twelve. Gary and Ash had always had these feelings for each other and each boy had, for years, mistaken the feeling for friendship and once they _had _realized what they felt towards each other, well... They didn't know if it was right or not. Was it okay to like your best friend? When you were a boy and so was he? No one would ever really be able to tell the boys; everyone would have their own opinion about such a thing.

And so they were stuck in this unwanted intermediate stage between liking each other and actually getting together, trapped here by a fear they didn't express to anyone but each other. Gary didn't mind too much at this age, though; just so long as the Oak boy was with his friend he was happy.

Right now with this little Pichu cuddling him he was pretty happy, too.

As the Pichu nuzzled it's face into Gary's, causing the Oak boy to smile by shy away a little to avoid getting Pichu fur all over his face, Ash watched with a grin. "You should get him, Gary," The black-haired boy came to say, causing his friend to look at him and the Pichu, seemingly aware it was being talked about, to stop it's nuzzling and look Ash's way as well.

"I mean, you two go great together!" Ash gave a big smile just as Pikachu hopped back onto it's rightful place on Ash's shoulder, giving a _Pika pi! _of agreement.

Blinking at Ash, Gary turned his blue gaze to the Pichu. They did, didn't they? Well, it was a little too early to really tell, but... They had definitely started off well. The little Pichu was so cute - it had big brown eyes that almost rivaled Ash's. Almost. Looking into the Pichu's brown eyes immediately made his best friend flash through Gary's head and he slowly came to smile. If he thought of Ash every time he saw this Pichu... That'd be great.

"I think I will," Gary said quietly and looked up at the woman, best known to the two boys as Old Lady Emma. "How much is he?" The brunette asked. Old Lady Emma smiled. "For you, Mr. Oak, he's free." She stated. Both Gary and Ash came to stand at attention. "Eh? Really?" Ash asked, surprised. The old woman's face became covered in a smile larger than her previous one. "You're the grandson of Professor Oak, Gary, and I've know you since you were a little boy. I know you'll treat this little one well, and that's enough payment." The woman said. Gary stared at the woman and smiled.

"Thanks," Gary said, Ash following suit with a, "Wow, you're great!" and Pikachu agreeing with a _Pika!_ The old woman giggled. "Enjoy the festival, you two," She called Gary and Ash retreated away, throwing up a wave. Ash returned the wave happily, though Gary had the little Pichu secured carefully in his hands as they left.

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><p>With Gary's new addition happy and excited to have a new owner, Ash and Gary walked along. It wasn't long before the little Pichu had scurried up Gary's head and into his hair, where it nestled itself in the soft brown spikes. Ash laughed before a brightly painted stand caught his eye.<p>

"Hey, cotton candy!" The black-haired boy exclaimed. Gary blinked, glancing over, and smirked. "You want some?" He asked, more than prepared to pay. Ash nodded eagerly. The Ketchum boy had always been known to love cotton candy. "Well, come on then, Ashy-Boy," Gary said and grabbed Ash's hand, pulling him over.

In no time the two boys were leaving the stand. Ash had red cotton candy, while Gary had blue. They couldn't give Pikachu and the new little Pichu any, since it wasn't recommended that a pokémon be given things like cotton candy, but Gary had promised to get both little electric rodents some poké snacks from his grandfather when they went home. That had sufficed.

After getting their cotton candy Ash and Gary, along with their two mouse pokémon, wandered around. They took in the sights of the festival and stopped at a few attractions. They stopped at one attraction called "Catch A Karp!" where you could catch Magikarp from a water tank and, if you wanted it, you could keep the pokémon. The attraction, ran by a Pallet native, was free. Ash failed in catching a Magikarp, but Gary succeeded, though didn't keep the fish pokémon.

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><p>After having fun from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, Gary and Ash finally decided it was time to leave the main festival grounds. While leaving, they caught sight of a Poké Paint-A-Face attraction. Ash gasped. "Wait, wait! Let's go there before we leave!" He pointed, desperately wanting to go to the face painting attraction desperately. Gary frowned, before managing a small grin. "Fine, fine. I've always wanted to see you with the face of a Muk," He said suggestively, wanting to see Ash look goofy. Ash huffed, but the two continued to the attraction.<p>

The attraction was a small tent and it was, currently, getting ready to close. "Oh," The girl manning the tent glanced up, seeing the two. Upon seeing Gary her cheeks lit up pink. "Hi, Gary. Were you coming to get your face painted?" She asked slyly, smiling. Gary shook his head, resisting the urge to scowl lightly. "No, but Ash wants his painted." He motioned to the black-haired boy beside him, as if saying, "Don't ignore him." The girl glanced at Ash, who was smiling happily, clueless to the fact that the girl had, and always had had, a crush on Gary. "Oh..."

"Okay, then. Ah.. What do you want?" The girl asked with none of the happiness she'd spoken to Gary with. "Ah, well... I don't know! Maybe a..." Ash drawled and Gary, not wanting to stay here long now that he knew Miss Crushing Teenage Girl, whom he disliked immensely, spoke up. "He wants to look like a Pikachu." He answered for Ash.

"Eh?" The boy turned to look at his best friend, who met his stare. "Just like this one," Gary went on to say, pointing at Pikachu. The girl eyed Pikachu and nodded. "Okay..." She said quietly, distressed and disappointed that Gary wouldn't be having anything done. Ash looked at Gary, pouting. "You don't want anything?" He asked. Gary shook his head just as the girl came to look hopeful. Ash frowned and looked to the female, named Anna.

"He wants to look like a Raichu!" Ash announced, causing Gary to flinch and Pikachu's tail to twitch. "Ash, I-" Gary went to protest, but Ash put his hand on Gary's shoulder, patting it and smiling at Anna. "We wanna be in the same sort of group as our pokémon!" Ash said, thinking Gary would make the _perfect _Raichu. Anna's face lit up. "Okay!" She squealed, running off to get the paint she'd just previously put away into a box. Gary looked towards Ash to find the boy smiling at him.

"She likes you," Ash said, causing Gary's eyes to widen slightly. So Ash knew, after all? Huh... Arms wrapped around Gary briefly.

"Too bad I don't wanna share," Ash said, smiling and causing Gary to do the same. Anna returned soon after and started right away, starting with Ash only because Gary insisted.

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><p>"Heheheh, today was great!" Came the cry of Ash Ketchum as he walked down Pallet's main road, his best friend walking beside him. His face was painted yellow with one big red circle on each cheek. Aside from his scarred cheeks he looked like the human incarnate of the Pikachu who rode on his shoulder.<p>

"Yeah, it was fun," Gary agreed, walking beside Ash with his hands in his pockets. His own face was painted yellow like Ash's, though the circles on his cheeks were a darker defined gold, like the electric cheeks of a Raichu. Ash smiled.

"I wish every day was the Palooza." Ash said as they walked. Gary smiled and stopped walking, pulling Ash to a stop, too. The younger male blinked up at him.

"The Palooza is fun, but any day with you is fun," Gary said and Ash blushed behind his painted face mask. "Eheh.." He laughed like a goof and Gary smirked, pulling him close.

"Ashy-Boy..." Gary purred and took Ash's chin in his hand. Ash squeaked and Pikachu covered it's eyes shyly while the little Pichu dove into Gary's mass of brown hair, peeking out. "Gary..." Ash mumbled as Gary pulled his face closer for one of their rare, unusual kisses.

"I love you," Gary mumbled and pressed his lips to Ash's as they stood on the deserted dirt road. Ash felt a shiver run down his spine and he closed his eyes, returning the kiss meekly.

Now if only they could do this always, in front of people and without the worry of how their relationship would be taken... If only.. If only..

...Maybe one day.

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><p><strong>AND SO THE Pallet Poké Palooza HAS ENDED.<strong>

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><p><em>-sigh- Man, this sucks. I dunno if it's the plot or... What. But I don't like it. I'mma get going on a new one right away so I can feel better about my writing abilities... Meh.<em>


	11. Chaos in the Corn Maze

Okay, so I finally got around to writing a new chapter for Palletshipping. I think I rushed this one's ending... Either way, I hope you like this chapter. Thanks to all reviewers, and please note that they are back to being kids in this chapter. Not to say they won't be older in coming chapters.

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN POKEMON! **

**ALSO: **Please, there are two notes at the end of this for readers, so please make sure to read them. Thanks~

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><p><em>Chaos in the Corn Maze<em>

"Gary! Heyyy! Come out! You didn't hide right!" Came the whining voice of Ash Ketchum, age eight, as the black haired, brown eyed little boy came to a stop. He stood in a small pasture on the outskirts of Pallet. A farm was nearby, with a few pens and stables for animals and a corn maze neighboring the wooden structure.

Ash's brown hues scanned the area and he scowled before calling out again, "Hey! Gary!" in frustration. His mother had brought he and his friend, Gary, out to this farm for the day. She had promised to help the old couple that lived on the farm with their daily tasks while their son was out in a neighboring city - Viridian. They hadn't been here long and it hadn't been too long after their arrival that Ash had suggested they play hide and seek.

_"C'mon, Gary, let's play!" Ash had exclaimed excitedly._

_"Okay, Ash, but I get to hide first and when you can't find me don't cry about it." Gary had responded, causing the younger boy to scowl._

_"As if I'd ever do that! I'll find you, for sure!" Little Ash had cried._

The boy's head hung as he recalled the recent event. He'd said he would definitely be able to find Gary, but... Gary always had been better at things than him; why should hide and seek have been any different? Ash's bottom lip quivered slightly, but the little boy held the frustrated tears he felt building up in his eyes from falling. He couldn't just start crying; Gary had told him not to! But... He'd looked everywhere! In the stables, in barrels, around the backside of the farm and even in the pig pen, where he'd obtained quite a few mud stains on the red shirt and tan shorts he wore. He just couldn't find his friend anywhere!

The little boy was lifting his head, ready to call out for his friend again, when there was a loud laugh. "I knew you'd start whining sooner or later," Came Gary's voice from behind him. Ash spun around and his eyes widened.

A small ways away, where a single tree was planted on the farm land, there was Gary Oak, age eight, climbing down from the tree. Ash watched as his friend hopped down daringly when he was at the midway point of the tree. Gary landed with ease and the brunette, clad in a purple shirt and black pants, turned to his younger friend and smirked, crossing his arms. Ash gaped at first, but the boy quickly huffed and his little hand balled into a fist, which he began to shake.

"I am not whining! You just didn't hide right - I couldn't find you!" Ash tried to defend himself. Gary snorted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You aren't supposed to be able to find me, Ashy-Boy, that's the point." Gary reminded. Ash's face flushed. "I know, but..." He trailed off and looked away, his lips pursing. Gary laughed at his friend.

"I guess that means I win this round, Ashy-Boy, but I already knew I'd win." The brunette said arrogantly, causing Ash to frown. "Oh yeah, well... It's my turn to hide now and you're not ever gonna find me!" Ash declared. Gary tilted his head back a bit and laughed. "Whatever you say, Ashy, just get to hiding. I'll count to fifty." He said. Ash shook his head. "One hundred!" He corrected his friend. "Fine, fine, one hundred," Gary agreed with a smirk, nevermind the fact that Ash had only had to count to fifty. Ash grinned and, as soon as Gary turned around, he took off to hide.

Gary stayed leaned against the tree he'd used to hide for one full minute, counting to one hundred with his eyes shut. When the full minute was up, blue eyes greeted the world again and scanned the area. "Alright, Ashy-Boy, now where are you?" He asked the open air before darting off in search of the black haired boy.

Ash, meanwhile, was still running to find a decent location for a hiding spot. The boy hadn't really known where to hide at first, not wanting to pick an easy, predictable spot. He'd decided that the corn maze set up on the farm would definitely be a good hiding spot and the boy had rushed into it immediately. He turned left and right, going around corner after corner of crop. When he had decided he'd definitely moved deep enough into the maze he stopped.

Panting, Ash hunched forward and rested his hands on top of his knees, catching his breath. The little boy grinned. "Gary'll never find me here," he said and he soon sunk to the ground, sitting on his butt and pulling his knees to his chest. He grinned once more. "I'll win this round." The boy said confidently and gave a soft, giddy giggle.

While Ash had found refuge in the confusing corn maze, Gary had figured his friend, as simple-minded as he was, would have taken to finding a simple spot in one of the stables and hiding there. He checked all the stables and it didn't take the brunette long to dub them Ash-less. Then he moved onto other parts of the farm, like the animal pens, the small shed on the land, and even some of the stacks of hay, sure Ash would get a kick out of hiding in a place like that. He found nothing.

The brunette reached up, scratching at his head in confusion as his other hand rested on his hip and he continued to look over the farmland from where he stood, back near the tree he'd counted at. "Where is he?" He asked himself, finding it hard to believe that he still hadn't found Ash. Blue eyes scanned the area. He usually found him right off when they played hide and seek... But Ash wasn't in any of the buildings, or pens, or stables. So then where...?

Gary's eyes finally took in the corn maze and he gasped. "No way," he said quietly under his breath. Ash wouldn't hide in there. No, no, no, _no._ But... where else could he have hidden? Gary's eyebrows furrowed and the brunette ran for the corn maze. When he reached the maze he stopped at it's edge. "Ash! Ash?" The boy called out loudly. Would Ash really have hidden in the maze? It'd take Gary forever to find him! Ash was probably lost, himself!

Still sitting in the very center of the maze, Ash could hear Gary calling him. Ash laughed quietly. "He's probably still running around the farm..." He thought out loud, but as soon as the words left his mouth there came a, "Ash, I know you're in the maze, so come out!" Ash giggled and shook his head, staying quiet. Gary would have to come and find him!

_Diggggggg._

Ash blinked and looked to his left. The boy gasped as he came face-to-face with, low and behold, a Diglett. The little creature was staring at him and Ash started to smile, beginning to reach out, when a large Dugtrio rose up from the ground on either side of it.

_Drio! Drio!_ It sounded angrily. Seeing it's angry face, Ash gulped. The two Dugtrios moved forward and immediately Ash was up and running.

_Diglett, dig. Diglett, dig. Drio, drio, drio!_

_Diglett, dig. Diglett, dig. Drio, drio, drio!_

The three, technically seven, ground-dwellers chased after the boy, apparently upset that he had come into their territory, and it was running from them, feeling the earth shaking beneath his feet, that the boy realized he had no clue how to get out of the maze. He came to corner after corner, turning left and right and coming to two-way sections where he had to just choose which was to go on panicked instinct. "Gary!" The boy cried, suddenly wishing he'd just hidden in the stables, after all.

Hearing his friend cry out for him, Gary's breath hitched and he charged into the maze. Ash sounded pretty scared! Just what was happening? _This is what the idiot gets for hiding in such a stupid place,_ Gary thought as he ran through the maze, turning here and there. "Ash, where are you?" He called, hoping that if Ash kept yelling to him he could find his friend via following his voice.

"Right here!" Ash called, causing Gary to frown and tilt his head towards the right where Ash's voice was coming from. "Keep talking!" Gary ordered as he turned right to hopefully get closer to running into Ash. He winced slightly as Ash let out a loud, "Garrrrryyyyyy!" Well, that was talking, he supposed. It helped him keep track of what direction Ash was in, in anyway. But.. Ash sounded like he was...

"Ash, quit moving!" Gary called, realizing Ash was running, too, and thus changing locations. "I can't! Dugtrio!" Ash called back and Gary frowned again. So Ash had some Dugtrio with him, huh? And apparently right on his trail, at that.

"Follow my voice, then, and I'll follow your's!" Gary said. "Okay!" Came Ash's response.

From then on the two boys practically screeched at each other, just trying to find each other in the maze. Ash's loud yells irritated the Dugtrios and little Diglett chasing him further and he was having to really push himself to not get rammed into by them. Gary, meanwhile, was running as quickly as possible just to find his friend soon. When he began to feel the earth shaking beneath his feet he knew Ash was close. "Ash!"

"Gar-" The sound of Ash's voice was cut off with a gasp as both boys turned a corner and finally, finally met up, crashing right into each other. Each boy fell back and groaned, quickly looking at each other with wide eyes. "Finally!" Gary said. "You idiot, don't hide in here again!" Gary scolded as he stood, arms crossed. Ash also moved to stand and frowned. "Yeah, yeah... I guess that means I lose, since you found me?" The little boy went to say.

There was a loud, _DRIO!_ and both boys turned around, giving a gasp, just before the two Dugtrios and one small Diglett rammed into them, shooting them into the air. "No... We're both losers!" Gary cried out as the two soared through the air.

"Ahhhhh!" And so, the two blasted off, eventually landing outside the corn maze in a sore heap. Never again would Ash Ketchum hide in a corn maze.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Okay! Two notes!<p>

**1) **There's a poll on my profile that I'd like readers to vote on. These Palletshipping chapters - should I eventually put them in order?

**2) **I don't know how many of the people that read this collection are Naruto fans, but if you do you clearly like cute stories. I'm starting a new chibi series for Naruto called _The Adventures of Naru the Kitsune! _which will go up in a few days with it's first chapter. If you're interested, I'd like you to read it once it goes up. It'll center around Naruto as a mute, adorable kitsune and other characters will make appearances. It might be a collection of oneshots like this one, or I may turn it into an actual cute little story. If you're interested in reading it, private message me or leave which you'd rather have in a review here - a set of oneshots or a story of cuteness where each chapter picks up where the last one left off?

Thanksssss~ LOVE, PUDDiNPiE.


	12. Author's Note On Abscence

**A Note From PuddinPie:**

As of... Friday, November 4th, 2011 I have been grounded due to getting a BLAH Report Card. I can't get on the computer - I snuck on right now - until I bring my grades up. This means I can't publish anything, true, but I assure everyone I am still writing and once I can get back on stories are going to be published nonstop, probably. Palletshipping will get more chapters, The Adventures of Naru the Kitsune will finally start, and others will go up.

I can't give any previews for Palletshipping chapters right now, but I know at least three or four new ones will go up. At least two will have Ash and Gary older and the others will probably be kids like they have been or even younger.

Thanksssss~

Love, PuddinPie.

P.S. I MISS WRITING AND PUBLISHING, MAN! BLAH!

ALSO~ This will be deleted once I can get back on without being grounded. Thanks.

**Author's Note added Saturday, November 12th, 2011.**


	13. Pallet's Nomadic Wanderer

Alrighty, so this was originally just another Palletshipping story I'd published, but I figured I'd mash it in with the rest Ha! Still hope it gets reviews~

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><p><em>Pallet's Nomadic Wanderer and his Poké Partner<em>

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

The white, perfectly smooth blanket of snow that had laid itself the night before all over Pallet Town was emitting soft crunching sounds as it was being ruined by tiny footsteps. Two little pairs of feet trekked across the once perfectly smooth and perfectly even, snowy landscape. The crunching sound coming from the snow as it's surface was broken by two pairs of little shoes continued, the blanket of snow that had covered the pathway between the house of a young Ash Ketchum and Professor Oak's laboratory being imprinted with little footsteps and foot prints until both little pairs of feet stopped.

Snow still fell, ready to fall into the imprints left by the little feet in the snow. The snow tried to fill in the small dents in the once perfect blanket of snow God had created overnight; to make it perfect again.

In the middle of the snowy pathway, in the very middle of the town of Pallet, stood seven year olds Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum. Both dressed in the typical clothes children would need in this sort of weather - boots, and lots of layers of clothes, as well as mittens and some earmuffs. Gary wore a scarf, though currently Ash was not. Even with all the clothes, both boys were still cold.

The two little boys stood close to each other now. Ash, whom of course was - and always would be - shorter than Gary, hugged his best friend's arm, hugging it close to him and trying to find some extra warmth that the clothes his mother had dressed him in this morning couldn't give him. Gary, also cold and not minding his friend clinging onto his arm like the way he was, let Ash cling onto him all he wanted. It made his arm a little warmer, and with the way Ash was turned toward him slightly, hugging Gary's arm to his little chest, Gary was sure Ash was getting the warmth he definitely craved, too.

"Gary, I'm cold," came Ash Ketchum's small voice, and Gary looked to the shorter, only slightly younger boy. Ash was shivering - the temperature was a bit below the freezing point, after all. Gary Oak's mouth curved downward, involuntarily, into a frown. "I know, Ash," came the spiky haired brunette's acknowledgement of Ash's statement. Like he even needed Ash to say he was cold - the boy's body shook, his teeth chattered, and the apples of Ash's cheeks, like Gary's own, were a bright, rosy red. Of course he was cold.

Ash stopped hugging Gary's arm the way he was, trading his best friend's arm for his waist, and Gary instinctively moved his arm to go around Ash, not wanting his friend to be cold, and wanting to get some body heat for himself out of this hugging deal.

Ash stood with his little face buried in Gary's torso. The outside of Gary's coat was cold from the freezing temperatures, and it hardly helped Ash get warmer, but that was okay - it was slightly better hugging Gary for warmth than not hugging him.

The two stood, undisturbed, for a few minutes like that, before the sound of crunching snow could be heard as it could be earlier when Ash and Gary were the ones disturbing the peaceful silence of this winter morning. These sounds of crunching snow were much louder than their little feet had been, though.

Little Gary's head turned to see who was coming.

"Ashy," Gary murmured softly to his friend, using the pet name, and still holding Ash close. Light excitement laced Gary's voice. Ash gave a frown and, with slightly furrowed, thin black eyebrows, he took his face away from Gary's chest, and looked up. Gary was looking off to his left, farther down the path at something coming, so Ash looked to his right, to also see.

Ash gave a small, happy and slightly surprised gasp. Walking towards them down this snowy pathway in Pallet, was a trainer - a male at least thirty years older than the two boys - and, at his side, a Charmeleon, head held high and the fire at the end of it's tail, even with this freezing weather, blazing strong.

The two little boys stayed in their hugging position, Ash's brown orbs and Gary's blue hues examining the man.

The thing that caught both of their young pairs of eyes first was the head gear the man was wearing. Atop his head was a large hat of a tannish color. It looked like it was made of straw, and truly was, and stuck through some of the weaved straw of the hat was a large, yellowish sort of feather. The feather was incredibly large, and looked like it'd been plucked from some large sort of bird.

The man wore simple winter clothes - pants, a shirt, shoes and a jacket, and had a scarf about the shade of hunter green around his neck. His head hung, and because of the angle his head was at his face was covered by not only his hat, but also black bangs that were medium in length and seemed to only succeed in hiding his eyes.

The man's Charmeleon gave a gruff cry of, _"Char!"_ as it's blue eyes landed on the two little boys standing together in the middle of the pathway, and the man looked up. As he let his face be seen, bangs moving out of the way and no longer shielding the upper half of his face, sunlight seemed to creep past the white clouds in the winter sky, and the soft sunlight shined down on his eyes, revealing and illuminating brilliant, chocolate brown hues.

Eyes practically opening to land directly on the two little boys, the man stopped walking. His fiery companion stopped beside him.

Ash, sinking into a mood of bashfulness that wouldn't really follow him into his preteen years, cuddled closer to Gary, and the brunette hunched his shoulder up towards the strange man and his Charmeleon slightly, just to show Ash some sort of shelter. Shy little Ash peered out past part of Gary's torso cautiously at the two strangers.

The four stood there, a few yards between them, for quite awhile. Gary sort of wanted to go running up to the Charmeleon, but kids weren't supposed to go running up to those they didn't know, so he didn't.

The first movement that occurred, aside from obvious breathing, in the few minutes they all stood still and cautious, was Ash's slight squirming. Gary turned his head to look down at Ash, and right off the bat came to realize Ash was trying to snuggle even closer to him for warmth. And again, Ash murmured to Gary he was cold. Gary gave a frown, and slowly moved to try and manage to slip out of his jacket, to try and give it to Ash. The stranger moved first.

Gary's body jerked slightly in a protective way as the stranger took a step forward, and Ash came to frown. The stranger stopped, and hesitated a moment, before he smiled.

The stranger turned and looked to his Charmeleon, who he motioned to follow him. He approached the two boys, Gary holding Ash protectively while the black haired boy's eyes stayed locked on the stranger.

The much older stranger came to stop a foot or so from the two boys, his Charmeleon staying loyally at his side. Ash and Gary's eyes stayed locked on the man, following his actions and watching as he crouched down.

"Don't you think it's awfully cold to be wearing so few layers?" asked the black haired stranger, whose eyes, brown and rich, held a friendly, slightly amused but also rather concerned look towards the two boys. The man was smiling, and his hand moved to tilt his hat up a bit more, so he could get a better view of the two boys.

The two children didn't answer the man right away, and Gary seemed to tighten his arms around his best friend. Ash didn't like the idea of a stranger, though that didn't stop a glint of curiosity from sparking in his brown orbs. Gary, however, of course looked protective and concerned.

"We don't know you. You're a stranger. Go away," Gary finally said, all at once, to try and get his want for the man to leave across easily. The man looked surprised for a moment, and after a moment came to chuckle oh so slightly under his breath, and the look of surprise that had so suddenly taken hold of his face was replaced by a smile similar to the one he'd had before.

_Oh, I know you well,_ the man said, to himself in his mind, of course. He kept the words in, and came to give another chuckle. His chuckling seemed to confuse Gary, and the Charmeleon that stood beside his trainer looked rather curious as to exactly what the man was over there chuckling about, too. Little Ash, however, had let his eyes go back to the man's hat, eyeing it with amazement and curiosity flickering in his chocolate brown eyes. The man seemed to notice.

Gary flinched slightly, moving Ash farther away from the man protectively and on instinct when the man's hand moved. The man placed his hand on the top of his hat, and looked surprised, only slightly, by the boy's extreme protectiveness over the other. But the elder male only gave a smile, and shifted his eyes to Ash.

"You seem really interested in my hat," the man noted out loud, and the smile on his face widened a bit as a blush came to spread across Ash's cheeks - obvious even though his cheeks were already a pinkish red from the cold temperatures. Ash peeked up at the man, his little hands holding onto Gary.

"It's big," Ash murmured softly, and tried to lean slightly closer. Gary, feeling his friend shift his weight forward a bit to get a better look at the hat, frowned and tried to push Ash back, but the little boy squirmed, and got out of Gary's arms. "Ash!" Gary exclaimed. Ash didn't really go anywhere, just stood beside Gary and in front of the man, but he was leaned forward and certainly not too far away from this strange man, and it made Gary nervous and uneasy. This was a stranger; they were supposed to run away when they saw strangers! And especially when a stranger tried to talk to them! Didn't Ash ever listen to his mom?

"What's this feather from?" Ash asked out of pure curiosity as he pointed at the large feather the hat was accessorized with. The man's eyes moved to look up, to peek up at the feather, though obviously he couldn't see it with his large hat in the way. He didn't need to, anyway; he'd had this hat for years, and he of course knew what the feather came from.

"Oh, this?" the man said for clarification, to amuse the little boy, and let his hand reach up and brush against the feather to make sure that was what the boy was talking about, though it was clear that the feather weaved into his hat was the only feather around.

Gary watched, arms crossed and pouting slightly because Ash was obviously curious about this man, and let his eyes wander briefly. They moved over to the Charmeleon by the man's side, and he only faintly heard Ash make the noise of, "Uh huh!" even though it was actually rather loud in volume, accompanied and intensified by curiosity and wonder. Gary's mind wasn't on that right now; he eyed the Charmeleon, until it looked at him, and flashed a large, toothy grin which actually proved to be rather unwelcoming. With all those teeth? How could it be? The Charmeleon didn't mean for it to seem unfriendly, but Gary came to flinch slightly, all the same.

"Why, this is the feather of a Moltres," the man answered Ash's question, and the little boy's mouth formed a perfect O as he made an, "Oh," noise to accompany it, sounding amazed and highly interested. "A Mol-tres," Ash repeated with the same amazed tone, breaking the name in half and stretching it out. Ash tilted his head, and gave a frown.

"What's a Moltres?" Ash asked, obviously unfamiliar with what it was and not realizing it was a legendary pokémon. Gary's eyes shifted back to Ash and the man. He had, of course, heard of Moltres before, and knew it was a legendary pokémon. He was the grandson of Professor Oak, so of course he'd hear about it at some point in his still rather short life. That it was legendary was all Gary knew, though.

The man gave a big smile. This boy didn't know what a Moltres was? Must not have been too big on and informed about pokémon just yet. Oh, well._ He will be one day, I hope,_ the man thought to himself. _Maybe Professor Oak can help get him into pokémon,_ the man thought once more, truly hoping it ended up being so.

"A Moltres is a big, big bird," the stranger said, stetching his arms out wide like he was ready to give someone a bear hug, though the gesture was meant to try and illustrate the large size of a Moltres. "It's a pokémon," he continued, "that flies high in the skies on nice, warm days." the stranger declared, and Ash gave a fascinated, "Oh," and then the little black haired boy smiled. He took a step forward, and reached his little hand up, most likely to reach out to touch the feather. The man, on instinct and in response to Ash's movement, tilted his head down, so it'd be easier for Ash to reach the feather. He didn't mind.

Gary's mouth nearly fell open as the boy watched his slightly younger friend's little fingers touch the feather, running across it. How could Ash just get so close to a stranger like that? It was dangerous, and Gary was sure he'd grown up hearing his mother tell him repeatedly not to trust a stranger!

The brown haired boy was about ready to open his mouth and scold his friend, when Ash turned his shining brown eyes to him, and he immediately stopped. Aw, those eyes always got him!

Gary watched as Ash gave a laugh and reached toward him, doing his best to wrap his little hand around Gary's wrist and pull him a bit closer to feel the feather. "Come on, Gary! You gotta feel! It's so soft!" Ash exclaimed, and placed Gary's hardly larger hand on the feather. Gary opened his mouth to protest, getting out the first syllable of his friend's name, before he paused. The blue eyed brunette gave a bit of a blink, and slowly moved his hand back and forth across the feather. His fingers caressed the feather's softness, cherishing the feel, and the man gave a chuckle. He was just as mesmorized, it seemed.

"Gee, mister, you sure must have seen some cool things if you have a feather from a Moltres," Gary commented, sounding a bit biwildered and amazed after he'd pulled his hand back. The man let his head tilt back up to a normal angle, and gave a chuckle.

"I suppose so. But when you've been traveling as long as I have, kid, you're bound to see some pretty neat things," came the stranger's response to Gary's comment. Hm, it would seem the little brunette knew at least a thing or two about Moltres; it seemed like he knew it well enough to know it was quite a bit more important than many other pokémon - it was legendary.

Gary blinked. Did that mean this man had seen more legendary pokémon than just Moltres? Instantly, what with his being Professor Oak's grandson, a spark of interest lit itself inside the little boy.

"Have you ever seen any other cool pokémon, mister? Like, you know, Entei or Mew?" Gary asked, and the boy's sudden excitement was clear in his voice. The man gave a laugh. _He'll be just as passionate about pokémon as his grandfather,_ the man thought, and gave a shake of the head. "Sorry, sport. I can't say I have. But I've seen a lot of cool pokémon all the same, even if they weren't what would be classified as legendary or amazing." the man said. Pokémon _could_ be common and cool, you know.

Ash, who had stood idlely by and listened to his best friend and the man's little chat, gave a blink, and frowned. "Gary, no fair! You know all about pokémon, 'cause your grandpa's some big important scientist guy!" Ash exclaimed, somewhatly feeling left out because Gary could, obviously, relate and converse with the man about an interesting topic and he couldn't. As a seven year old, Ash Ketchum still hadn't adopted the correct word, _professor,_ into his vocabulary just yet.

Just standing and watching, the Charmeleon gave something of a snickering motion, finding the little black haired boy's words funny. Sure pokémon couldn't speak in human tounge, but they could certainly understand humans to a decent degree, neh?

With a blink of his stormy blue eyes, Gary came to frown, and turned to Ash. All concern about being near a stranger dimenished and forgotten, the brunette perched his hands on his hips, leaning towards Ash a bit.

"Professor, Ash! Professor!" Gary corrected, Ash's miscalling of his grandfather constantly bothering him, even throughout all these years of hearing it. Ash gave a huff and pouted, crossing his arms. "It's still unfair!" he insisted, and stuck his tounge out childishly. Gary's mouth opened, to shoot something back, but it was about this time that the man let out a big, hearty laugh, which caught the attention of both boys.

Standing to his feet, the man eyed the two boys, and laughed some more. "Well, if your grandfather's a professor, than I suppose it is just a bit unfair for this little guy, huh?" the man said, siding with Ash and speaking to Gary, whom looked surprised. The man turned his eyes to Ash and grinned before bending back down to be nearly eye level with the little boy.

"You know what you should do? You should grow up and be a pokémon trainer like me. My grandfather wasn't some kind of professor, either, so I didn't know a whole lot from him. But I made sure to learn a lot, so that once I got on my journey I'd know a thing or two." the adult said to Ash, who stared up at him. "Yeah?" Ash asked, to which the man gave a nod. Ash tilted his little head down a bit, thinking. If he learned a whole lot about pokémon and eventually became a trainer, he could be like Gary was sure to be when he got older - maybe even better.

After a moment of intense thought for a child and consideration, Ash looked up and grinned, giving a, "Yeah!" before shifting his eyes to Gary, who gave a blink as Ash pointed to him. One hand on his little hip, Ash used the other to point, and gave a big grin.

"You just wait, Gary Oak! I'm gonna be a pokémon trainer when I get older, and know way more about pokémon than you will, and I _won't_ have a scientist for a grandpa!" Ash exclaimed and Gary huffed.

"It's _professor,_ Ash!" Gary again corrected, saying the word loudly, and crossed his arms. "And just what makes you think you'll get better than me so easily? I bet I'll be twice as good as you!" Gary predicted and stuck out his tounge, and Ash stomped his foot. "You will not!" Ash got out, before the man stepped in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on, boys! I didn't say a thing about anybody being better than anybody!" the man stated to stop the rather competitive argument between the two boys, crouching down and holding up his hands to motion for them to calm themselves. Ash and Gary looked to him, and frowned. "If neither of us will be better, then what will we be?" Ash asked, and the man smiled.

Reaching both his hands forward, the man took one of Ash's hands in his, and one of Gary's. The two little boys watched as the man brought their hands together, and both boys instinctively grabbed the other's hand as the man let go.

"You'll be equals. You'll both get better, but you'll support eachother, and help to keep pushing eachother forward so you each can grow." the man said, and gave a warm smile. The boys looked away from their hands, and up at eachother. "Pushing eachother... forward?" Gary asked, staring into his best friend's eyes, and the man nodded.

"But what if Gary gets ahead of me?" Ash asked, frowning. Sure, they could be equals, but what if Gary got better than Ash without meaning to?

The man frowned, and soon came to smile. "Well, if you two keep your bond strong," the man said, slipping off his jacket as he spoke. His smile widened and he took the jacket, carefully wrapping it around the two little boys. They both easily fit in it. "Take care of eachother and make sure your friendship doesn't die just like I make sure to keep my little friend here's flame burning strong so he doesn't die," he said, motioning towards Charmeleon as he shut the jacket. "Then you can each be there to help push the other forward, should one of you sneak ahead of the other." he said, and put his hands to his knees, standing.

All wrapped up together in the jacket made heat rush through Ash and Gary, the jacket warm from the man's body heat and such. They stared up at him, and watched as he took off his hat as well and bent, placing it on little Ash's head. Gary watched quietly, and didn't mind that the man was, apparently, leaving the hat with Ash.

Hands on his hips and down to just a shirt and pants, along with his shoes, the man laughed lightly. "I have to go, but I'll leave my hat with you. Make sure to take good care of it, and keep your friendship in good condition, too," he said, and bent oh so slightly at the hips. He placed a hand on each of their outside shoulders, and gave their shoulders a pat or two, before he stood back to his full height. Looking over his shoulder to Charmeleon, the man smiled.

"Come on, we need to get going." he said, and soon the two were on their way. "You two grow up and be great trainers, but always stay the very best of friends," he called back to the boys, and threw up a wave as he and his pokémon retreated away.

He'd seen the little face he'd been having dreams of for years, still chubby with baby fat and possessing those shining brown eyes that greatly resembled his own. Finally, finally he'd seen it again. True, the boy hadn't been held by his mother this time around, a brunette haired beauty, like he was in the man's dreams, but that was fine.

_I left you, reunited with you, and now I'm departing once again my son, but this time I'll leave a little bit of my wisdom behind with you,_ the man thought, and looked to the sky with a smile. He couldn't return home just yet, for he was a trainer who was striving to really make something of himself, so one day he could come back highly accomplished, and someone that little boy would absolutely swoon over and be proud of.

One day, he knew he'd come back, to find his little boy would be gone, and in his place would, hopefully, be a young man. And by his side, the man hoped to still see Gary Oak; hoped to still see them together and the very best of friends.

As he retreated away with his trainer, the Charmeleon looked back to the two boys, and like he had done to Gary earlier, flashed a toothy grin of farewell. This time, Ash actually saw the grin, and it scared him just as it had Gary - although worse. The brunette, however, wasn't too surprised or shocked to see it, and as he felt Ash's hand in the jacket, grabbing around for his, he took Ash's hand, and leaned his head over a little bit.

"Ash, we've gotta stay friends. Forever," Gary said, nudging the hat out of the way a bit with his nose to place a tender kiss on his best friend's temple. Ash gave a small little blink, and looked to his friend. Staring into Gary Oak's stormy blue eyes, Ash gave a big smile. "Mhm!" he agreed, and from there the two little boys finally continued their trek to Professor Oak's.

With each boy having one arm in one of the arm's of the jacket and their hands holding onto the other's inside the jacket, the two continued their walk, and chatted about the stranger they'd just met. Gary inwardly mused about the man in his mind, and just as his face seemed to ring some sort of bell, he heard little Ashy say, "You know, Gary, that guy was sort of familiar,"

The two boys didn't think about the man's familiarity to them for too long, for soon they came across Professor Oak's house, and they jumped right into telling the elderly man all about their encounter with the strange man and his Charmeleon. Professor Oak listened, and at the end he smiled.

_So you do come home every once and a while, eh? And this time you met your little boy... It's been so long... Were you surprised at how much he's grown, Mister Ketchum?_ Professor Oak wondered, and the smile stayed on his face as he went about telling the boy's everything they wanted to know about pokémon; it would seem they had quite a few questions.

Gary and Ash learned all they could about pokémon, and while they sometimes got competitive, they made sure to stay good friends. One didn't know something about pokémon without sharing it with the other, and they made sure they were each on the same page.

And from that day on, the large hat the stranger had given him that day could always be seen in Ash's room, usually rather casually placed on one of his bed posts. His mother, of course, recognized it, and always gave a smile and had to wipe a tear from her eye when she went to her little boy's room to clean, wake him, or anything else for that matter.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter... And review! Manyyy reviews! I, personally, like this one~<p> 


	14. Author's Note On Chapters

**12/10/2011.**

**A Note From PuddinPie:**

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><p>So... I'm not grounded anymore! I think that calls for a WOOT! And... Yeah~<p>

Anyway, I made this Author's Note to say that the chapter that will go up tomorrow (12/11/2011) will probably be the last one for a while. It'll be the last one _in _a while, too, as a lot of you will know. Being grounded I haven't been able to write them much. But the newest one will be completed tomorrow and it'll go up. And afterwards?

I'll be working on several story ideas I have for, mostly, SasuNaru, but as for a Pokémon outlet? I'll be redoing my Trilogy which I had up and deleted two-thirds of because I didn't like it. I want the trilogy to portray something different now and I never liked the latter two of the stories, anyway.

I hope you guys like tomorrow's chapter and eventually get around to reading the first and still published installment of my Trilogy, **Poké Camp Out**, as well as read the rest of the trilogy whenever I get it up. Not many people read those. Someone once asked me why I didn't put those in with **Palletshipping**. The answer?

The Trilogy is now meant to show a _realistic timeline _of Ash and Gary's friendship - the rise and fall, so to speak. It didn't originally, but now it will. It won't have any connections with my Palletshipping collection because the Trilogy is going to show how I'd imagine they _were friends in the series, started becoming rivals, and finally went their seperate ways. _Come to think of it, **Viridian's Full Moon **would go well in the Trilogy, but I'm not sure many people even liked that; first review I got on it - and the absolute LONGEST review I've ever gotten - basically DISSED IT COMPLETELY. Really. Go check it out. I know it wasn't great, but GEEZ.

Anyway, I'm done rambling. I shouldn't have started. I hope everyone is doing great and, if nothing goes up between tomorrow and Christmas, although I doubt that, that everyone has a great Christmas and yadda yadda. Bye~

Oh! And for a summary of tomorrow's chapter, or Chapter 16, you can look at **Palletshipping**'s first chapter, which is the sort of Table of Contents, if you will.

P.S. I've decided, under odd circumstances, that I might as well not delete my Author's Note from a few weeks ago. Mehhhh.

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><p>Love,<p>

JordiiPordiiPuddinPie.


	15. Let's Play Some Pokémon!

New chapter, yaayyyy. I'm not grounded anymore! Double yayyyy.

I hope you guys like this one at least just a bit.. I think I'm getting a _tiny _bit better at writing them as teens.

**Author's Note: I don't own Pokémon.**

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><p><em>Let's Play Some Pokémon!<em>

_Dunna dun! Dunna dun! Dunna dun, dunna, dun, dun!_

A television screen flashed brightly. Every color of the rainbow and several select pokémon danced across the television as a game start screen came up. It had a mostly red, blue and yellow color scheme and at the top in big, red letters read, **"Pokémon Rumble!".** Under the large heading were a few choices, among them being,_ "Story mode"_ and, _"2 Player Mode"_ as well as,_ "Options"_ and_ "Game Credits."_ A typical game start screen. Catchy music played and below the music a soft humming could be heard, which was coming from the powered up game system nearby.

**"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"** Came a screaming voice from the game.

Fourteen year old Ashton "Ash" Ketchum jumped up from his spot kneeling in front of the game station, looking determined with slightly narrowed eyes, a big grin, and his hands clenched into excited fists. Behind him, on the couch, sat his trusty Pikachu and his best friend Gary's newest pok mon, a cute little Pichu he'd gotten at a past Pallet Town festival. Pikachu watched on as its owner got amped up.

"Oh yeah! My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm_ definitely_ ready to rumble!" The tan, black haired boy exclaimed.

**"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"** The game cried again. Ash scowled.

"I said yes!" Ash said again, pointing at the screen like he was facing an opponent in battle the way he would, probably, if said opponent had just told him he was going to lose or something along those lines.

"I'm gonna master you, game, and I'm gonna totally crush that good-for-nothing Gary, too!" The teen announced determinedly. There was a snicker behind Ash.

Ash shrieked lightly and whirled around to face the direction of the snicker, which happened to have come from the doorway that led to the Ketchum kitchen. Gary Oak stood there, holding two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Ah! Gary!" Ash exclaimed at the sudden appearance of his best friend and crush, looking surprised.

"So I'm good-for-nothing, eh, Ashy Boy?" The brunette in the doorway said with a smirk, eyeing the tanner boy. "Those are pretty bold words coming from a loser like you." He proclaimed.

Ash scowled. "I'm _not_ a loser! And I'm gonna prove it today by beating you at this game!"

**"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"**

"YES!"

Gary laughed at Ash as the slightly younger boy screamed at the TV. They hadn't even sat down to start playing and Ash was already getting frustrated. It was almost precious, he thought. Sitting on the couch nearby with Pichu watching on in curiosity, Pikachu let out a puff of air and shook its head at its master. _Pikaa..._

"We'll see about that, Ashy!" Gary headed towards Ash, who let out a huff.

As Gary approached Ash plopped down onto the living room floor in front of the TV with the coffee table and couch behind him. On the floor about half a foot in front of him sat two controllers that went to the game system they'd be using to play the new game Gary had brought over, which had been a gift from his grandpa, Professor Oak.

"I'm gonna beat you..." Ash grumbled quietly. Gary laughed again freely at his friend, sitting down on the floor beside him.

"Whatever you say, Ashy Boy. Here," Gary handed over one of the mugs of hot chocolate to his friend. What sort of snow day would it be without hot chocolate and videogames? A bad one, for sure.

Ash took the hot chocolate Gary offered, not saying anything._ Gary always beats me at real pokémon battles, so I've gotta beat him this time! I've only ever won once against him..._ Ash scowled at his own thoughts.

In one quick motion, Ash's hand gave a small twitch on the mug he was holding and the black haired teen quickly tilted his head back, bringing the mug to his lips. He took a big gulp of the hot beverage, feeling himself getting_ really_ eager to beat Gary. Gary raised an eyebrow as he watched Ash and soon felt the corners of his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh.

"Guess I'm not too good-for-nothing to be your hot chocolate boy." Gary joked, but the younger boy had no time to argue back at him.

As soon as Ash swallowed the hot liquid he knew it was a mistake. It was hot, _burning_ hot. Ash let out a loud gasp as if he were choking for air, his hand flying up to his throat as his face grew red. "Ow!" He shrieked.

Gary laughed at the boy, finally, and reached over. He took the mug of hot chocolate from Ash, not wanting him to drop it. Who knew how mad Mrs. Ketchum would be if she came home to find a big, brown stain on her living room carpet. They'd spilled things all the time as kids, so she was a pro at removing stains, but Gary knew Ash always got upset when they ended up making a mess because his first thought was how mad his mother would be. As a kid he'd always burst into tears, even though Mrs. Ketchum wasn't going to get very, very mad and therefore it wasn't necessary to start bawling out of guilt like a big baby.

Gary turned around a little and sat both his and Ash's hot chocolate on the coffee table behind them. When he glanced over at Ash again the teen was holding his mouth open, practically holding onto his tongue. Gary grinned and leaned over. As he took Ash's chin into his hand he saw his friend glance up at him with surprised brown eyes and couldn't help but smile as he closed the distance between them, sealing Ash's mouth shut with a kiss.

Ash stared, wide-eyed, into his friend's face as he felt Gary's tongue slowly moving into his mouth, having easily gained entrance. He felt it caressing his and it caused blood to rush to the fourteen year old's face. He sat there like a log, not moving and only staring at Gary's eyelids. Slowly, Ash's eyes shut and, instead of doing anything back because he had_ always_ been shy with stuff like this, he let Gary do whatever. It seemed more than anything like Gary was giving his tongue a massage with his, but he supposed that was what a kiss _was,_ anyway. Ash felt a shudder rack his body at the thought.

Ash's relationship with Gary had once been so simple. They met when they were two, his mom had told him, but he couldn't remember. His first memory of Gary was when he was three, sitting on his back porch and eating flowers. He didn't think that was actually a memory, though. Wasn't the human mind supposed to make memories up every now and then? Why would they eat _flowers?_ That'd be weird... But anyway...

They'd been best friends for forever. Sure, they fought a lot and became rivals for a long while and even now their rivalry was active, but... Some time ago Ash had realized that he didn't feel the sort of feelings towards Gary that he felt towards any of his other friends. Just a few months ago he'd come to be told by Gary himself that Gary had the same sort of feelings for him at the Pallet Poké Palooza. It was... weird. They were both boys, so... How would anyone ever take knowing how they felt for each other? Would it be bad or okay? How would his mom take something like that? Ash didn't know...

Another, **"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"** came from the TV as Gary slowly pulled away from Ash and Ash paid the game no mind.

Gary watched as Ash slowly turned away, face redder than a tomato. He grinned and as Ash slowly crossed his legs Indian style and reached forward, taking one of the controllers off the floor in front of them, Gary followed suit, copying the actions.

As the two boys got themselves situated on the floor, getting ready to play, the two electric mouse pokémon sitting on the couch quickly hopped down. Pikachu hopped right on over the coffee table while Pichu, with its low stature, had no choice but to scurry under it. Pikachu came up behind Ash, scurrying up its master's back and onto his shoulder which had, really, become like his permanent post. Pichu, meanwhile, circled around to Gary's front and hopped into the brunette's lap, who smiled admiringly and pet the little rodent on the head.

**"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"** The game cried.

"We sure are!" Gary turned to Ash, grinning. "Right, Ashy Boy?"

Ash turned his head and met Gary's gaze. He felt more heat rush to his face and he nodded. "Yeah," He agreed. He wasn't quite so pumped right now, still antsy over the kiss, but Gary knew his friend would come around to being his usual loud, goofy self soon. And so he let his thumb hit the** START** button on his controller; he happened to be the first player. The action unlocked the Start screen, letting some of it's dimness fade away as Gary was now free to scroll up and down the few game choices. They'd be playing in _"2 Player Mode."_

After selecting the desired mode of game play and picking _"Two-on-Two Rumble"_ rather than _"Tag Team_" or_ "One-on-One Rumble"_ it came time for the two boys to pick their pokémon. Even though there were hundreds of pokémon to choose from programmed into the game to use, both boys ended up picking old favorites. Ash chose Pikachu and Charizard. Gary chose Dragonite and Scyther. Soon enough Gary was hitting the** START** button and things began to commence.

And in no time Ash was fired back up again. He was yelling and screaming, making sound effects as they battled that actually went right on along with the sounds of the game. That annoying,** "ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"** didn't go off any during battles, thankfully.

Ash and Gary battled hard, going at it time and time again. Gary won the first two rounds and even the third. Ash came around on a lucky break and just barely won the fourth before reaching back and taking his cooled hot chocolate off the coffee table.

"Take a break at five rounds?" Gary suggested, glancing over at Ash. Aside from some bickering about Ash losing and some slick moves by Gary, they hadn't talked much during their gameplay. It was ironic; they didn't talk much during actual battles either. Not with each other, anyway. They were always so focused on winning, outdoing the other.

Gary won the fifth round. Surprise, surprise. Ash huffed, chucking his controller down onto the floor, and crossed his arms. Gary laughed. "Don't pout," He scolded lightly before reaching over and ruffling Ash's hair. The boy jerked away and scowled, shooing Gary's hand away. It was obvious he was_ definitely_ pouting. The older of the two laughed.

"You won at least once, Ashy Boy, so there's no reason to get grumpy. That's much better than anyone else could have done." Ash had to scowl at Gary's gloating.

"Yeah, whatever! Let's do another five rounds! I'll beat you!"

Gary smirked and the game started all over again.

In the end the score was Gary - 7 and Ash - 3. Gary was grinning like he'd just received an award and Ash grinned with a twitch in his eyebrow as he tried not to get annoyed by that look.

"Okay, Ash, since I'm the winner I think I should get an award." Oh, there he went.

"What kind of award?"

Gary smirked.

"Kisses. Seven of them. From you."

"Eh?" Was Gary _crazy?_ And... Was Ash flushing_ again?_ Oh, yeah.

Gary grinned and pointed to his face, more specifically his lips. "Yep. That's what's gonna happen. Come on, Ashy Boy, I won. Don't be a sore loser."

Ash scowled at Gary, but leaned forward carefully. His face red and Pikachu off his shoulder, covering its eyes while Pichu stared away giggling, one of his hands came up and he grabbed Gary's hand. The brunette smirked and shut his eyes, waiting.

Here it came. He crushed Ash into the dirt and this was his reward for it. Seven kisses.

He puckered his lips oh so slightly.

Three... Two...

Something soft pressed against his cheek and Gary's eyes flew open. "Eh?"

Ash was kissing him on the cheek instead of on the lips. Seven times he kissed him and finally the black haired boy pulled away, blushing like an idiot and almost looking irritated. "There."

Gary stared, blinking every so often, at his friend. Well that hadn't been what he'd had in mind, but...

Suddenly Gary grinned and laughed, causing Ash to jump slightly in surprise and look at his friend. "What?"

Gary, still grinning, leaned over and put his arm around Ash's shoulders. He let his hand rest atop Ash's head, ruffling his already tussled head of spiky black hair.

"Well, wasn't that cute? Best award ever." Gary leaned forward a bit more to kiss Ash's cheek in return, but the younger boy quickly pressed his palm to Gary's face and pushed him away, scowling. "Gary!"

Gary let himself be pushed back and watched as Ash grabbed his mug and went to drink something that wasn't there.

Gary snickered and took Ash's mug. "I'll get some more." He stood, heading into the kitchen. He leaned down after standing for a little peck, like a man would to his wife, but Ash just turned his head away.

Standing to his full height, Gary laughed through his disappointment._ Leave it to Ash to be so awkward about this stuff._

Gary retreated into the kitchen, smiling to himself and leaving Ash to pout over his loss and the kisses. Things were still kind of awkward for them and Ash's bashfulness never helped, but Gary guessed it didn't matter. Ash wasn't a very intimate person. He never kissed Gary, even in private. It just wasn't the sort of move Ash would pull. Not that Gary minded. So what if he always had to kiss Ash and Ash almost never got around to kissing back? They were fourteen, for one, and, for another, Gary was just happy to have_ Ash._

Gary's smile softened out as he started making more hot chocolate.

Loud, pouting, soft hearted Ash...

**"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?"**

"NO! I am NOT!" Gary heard Ash scream and there was a crash.

Soft hearted Ash...

..Who had just chucked his game controller at the TV.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>I personally think this is better than the<strong> Pallet Poké Palooza<strong> one.

Reviews make me happy, which I need to be a little more of lately~

Love, PuddinPie.


	16. Poké Camp Out

Okay, so I'm sure plenty of you have probably read this before if you've read **Palletshipping **at all. This was a part of a Pokémon Trilogy I was doing, but I cancelled that all-in-all which is funny, considering I just said in an A/N a few days ago that I wouldn't be mixing this oneshot into **Palletshipping. **Oh, well. We're allowed to take back our words :]

But anyway, I hope you guys like this if you haven't read it and, if you have, you don't mind seeing it again. This was the _very first _thing I did for Palletshipping!~

**DISCLAIMER: DAHH POKéMANS. DAHH CHARACTERS. IZ DON'T OWN 'EM! (..I need to lay off the Pepseh~)**

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><p><em>Poké Camp Out<em>

"Gary! How come we have to go this far out?" Came the whining, teeny tiny voice of Ash Ketchum, age six, as he trekked after his friend through Pallet's forest, trying to stay close behind his best friend. Dressed in a pair of little blue shorts and a teal colored t-shirt, on Ash's little feet donned a pair of brown sandals that easily strapped onto the child's tiny feet.

Ash didn't want to be here. Really, he didn't. Sure, he had wanted to go on a camp out with his best friend Gary, but he didn't want to set out to find a campsite this late. He didn't want to go into the forest and away from the actual town of Pallet, either. Even if little Ash was adventurous and fascinated by the world around him, well... Ash Ketchum did not like the dark. And oh, was it dark.

The darkness of night had spread out over Pallet Town and certainly the rest of the Kanto region by now. It was nearing eight o'clock. All the two little boys currently had to light their way was a little old timey lantern Gary held, and the shining stars above them. Neither made Ash feel all that better about the never ending, intimidating darkness that surrounded them. Gary didn't seem as bothered by the dark as Ash was.

Brown haired Gary Oak, currently age seven since he'd just had a birthday a month before, looked back over his shoulder at his whining, obviously sort of jumpy and frightened friend, Ash. Gary, compared to Ash, was dressed a bit darker. With a black t-shirt and a pair of tannish shorts, Gary actually wore the same kind of sandal as Ash did, currently.

Both little boys held their bags and such, but since Gary had to hold the lantern in one hand and guide their way to a spot he had already decided he wanted to camp out at, of course he'd saddled little Ash with the majority of his bags as well as Ash's own. The little boy had had problems carrying the bags when they first started out, but with the way it had grown dark fast, it would seem Ash could carry them easier now, most likely because his mind was on his fear and not on his body's constant screaming at him to drop some of the bags - most preferably Gary's.

"Aw, come on Ash. You're not scared, are ya?" Gary teased, giving his signature smirk - he possessed it even in childhood, just to throw at little bitty Ash.

Slightly hunched over due to a back pack he was carrying on his back, Ash held the other bags as best he could, though right now his main concern was the teasing Gary had just thrown at him. The black haired little boy's cheeks, still of course slightly large with baby fat, puffed out, and grew slightly red in obvious embarrassment.

"No!" Ash exclaimed, trying to deny he was scared, but both boys knew he was. That was the only reason Gary had asked; he obviously knew Ash was scared of the dark.

Gary gave a laugh at Ash's denial, and looked straight ahead once more. They were almost at their destination. Then, came the sound of something moving through the forest, seemingly following them.

"G-Gary!" Came the shrieking, scared cry of Ash Ketchum from behind him, and there was a thud as the little boy dropped any bags in his arms due to his body moving, showing his fear. He latched himself onto Gary's back, causing the slightly older boy to give a dissatisfied grunt, hunching over slightly because of Ash's weight on him.

"Ash! Get off!" Gary ordered, voice unhappy and kind of impatient. "B-But there's something there!" Ash immediately rebelled, trying to stay latched onto Gary as the little brunette moved his arm some, trying to elbow the scared little boy off of him. His attempts didn't come with success, and Gary finally gave an irritated, "Ash!" The practical scolding caused Ash to immediately jump down and move away from Gary.

"I'm sorry," Ash apologized, standing a few feet behind Gary now, back where he had dropped the bags. Looking down, his upsetness was clear. Now Gary was mad at him! Or so the younger thought. But Gary just gave a sigh, and muttered a, "It's fine," Then, he told Ash to hurry up.

Ash picked up the bags again, and as Gary started walking, Ash followed him. Every now and then Ash would hear something behind him, and look back, but he never said anything to Gary about it again. They were supposed to be camping out tonight, and if he made Gary super mad at him somehow this trip would be even less fun for Ash than it already was.

Minutes after Ash's freak out, the two little boys came to a small clearing with a lake near by. Ash gave an amazed gasp, while Gary just grinned, inwardly knowing Ash would like it, and headed further into the clearing. "Come on, Ash," Gary ordered. "Ah!" Came the sound of surprise from Ash as he stopped his dazing, and he nodded, starting to move to follow Gary.

Some ten minutes later, with a bit of difficulty, the little boys had managed to set up their tent. Ash was quick to get inside, dragging the bags along with him and glad the tent was no longer packed unassembled into one of them, and Gary soon followed.

After discarding all their bags into the very back corner of the decently sized tent, Gary reached for one of the things he'd been carrying. A picnic basket, packed by Ash's mother. Of course Gary had carried it here; he didn't trust Ash with food. He'd eat it before they even got here! And with the way Ash had dropped all the bags he'd been carrying earlier when he flipped out, Gary was certainly glad he hadn't left the basket in Ash's possession and care.

Sitting with his legs criss crossed, Gary started reaching into the basket after setting it in front of him. Hmm... Water, some snacks, and three sandwiches, probably for the two boys to split between them. Beside the brunette, his slightly younger friend was pulling off his sandals - something Gary had already done.

"Oh, boy! Momma packed me a ham sandwich!" Ash exclaimed, sitting on his knees and peering into the basket with Gary, before snatching one of the ham and lettuce sandwiches for himself. Gary gave a snicker. "You know they're _all_ ham sandwiches, right?" The brunette pointed out, giving a shake of his head. Ash was such a goof. But for now the black haired boy just ignored Gary as they both started to eat, happily biting into his sandwich again and again.

That is, until he heard that sound of shuffling from earlier, and an eerie moan came from outside of the tent. Ash's body jumped a bit, and he leaned back, away from the flap of the tent a bit. "G-Gary.." He mumbled softly, and this time Gary heard it, too.

_Saauuurrrrr. Sauuuurrrrrrr._ The two boys heard it, and even Gary came to bite his lip. "Wha-Whaddya think it is?" Ash asked, leaning onto Gary a bit. Gary could only give a shake of his head, an eyebrow raised. The moans, currently frightening since it was night time and their surroundings were creepy, continued, and carefully Gary reached towards the flap of the tent. Ash gave a little gasp. "Gary..." He whispered, wanting his friend to be careful. Gary gave a small nod, understanding and trying to be cautious, and carefully drew back the flap. Both were expecting to see something scary.

They were met with a Seed. The Seed Pokémon, that is. A little Bulbasaur, currently being illuminated by the light the little lantern in the tent was giving off, stared up at the two little boys with big, red eyes, and one could swear it was smiling.

The two boys looked on, examining the Bulbasaur and feeling their heartbeats slowing down back to a normal pace. _Bulba-saur-saur. Bulba-saur._ Went the little grass pokémon, and in no time the pokémon was just inviting itself into the tent. Both boys watched it carefully, still all too surprised. Both boys watched the Bulbasaur make it's way over to their picnic basket. Both watched it carefully pull itself up a bit, peeking into the basket and digging around, before pulling out the last sandwich left in the basket. Dropping the sandwich to the tent's bottom, the little Bulbasaur began to eat it.

Both boys looked to eachother, away from Bulbasaur, with surprise and shock written all over their little faces. Neither were really scared now, but they were certainly recovering from being very nearly stunned by the appearance of a little Bulbasaur rather than the monster they thought was creeping up on them.

Gary was sent out of his daze by the laughter of Ash Ketchum, and looked back down to the Bulbasaur, to find it trying to crawl into Ash's lap to steal what remained of the little boy's sandwich. Ash held it away from the little pokémon, and slipped just the lettuce out, deciding the Bulbasaur had probably liked it best from the sandwich it had just ate, and offered it to the Bulbasaur holding it just over the little thing's head. The Bulbasaur carefully lifted it's head, and took the lettuce happily. Both boys watched as it ate the food, and was soon looking back up to them with a happy expression. It gave another sort of, _Saur, saur. Bulba-saur._

Both boys looked to eachother and gave happy grins, and soon Gary was slipping his lettuce out of his sandwich, and feeding it to the little pokémon. A mere minute or so later, both little boys finished their sandwiches, what was left, and let themselves lay down, the little Bulbasaur coming to lay with them.

The two little boys laying with their heads near the tent flap, their arms folded and heads resting on said pair of folded arms, the little Bulbasaur snuggled between them. _Saur, saur._ The Bulbasaur went, nuzzling into Gary, before turning to Ash. _Bulba-saur._ It cuddled into Ash, causing the little boy to smile. He lifted himself onto his elbows a bit, and looked with his brown eyes down to Gary, whom gave a bit of a blink and sat himself up in the same way, curious.

Ash carefully leaned over the Bulbasaur a bit, towards Gary. Putting their heads together, he nuzzled his against Gary's a bit. "Bulba-saur-saur. Bulba-saur," Ash went, mimicking the Bulbasaur. Gary gave a confused, surprised blink, before he snickered. "Saur, saur, saur." He joined in on the brief little game, nudging Ash's head with his, before Gary laid back down, and turned onto his side towards Ash and the Bulbasaur. Ash watched Gary reach his arm over, pulling Ash and ultimately the little Bulbasaur close, and the black haired boy smiled, reaching over and turning out the little lantern nearby before letting himself lay down, much closer to Gary than he was starting out.

The two little boys cuddled close, the little Bulbasaur laying between them, and rested their heads against the other's, the Bulbasaur laying between their chests. Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak slipped off into dreamland, as did the little Seed Pokémon. And even if he knew darkness was surrounding him, Ash wasn't scared, and could easily let himself slip off to sleep. He had Gary, and little Bulbasaur.

The next morning, bright and early, Ash Ketchum stirred. Having shifted some throughout the night, the little boy turned back onto his side to face Gary laying beside him, and cuddled as close as he possibly could. Much closer than he could have the night before.

The little Bulbasaur was gone.

Ash sat up a bit, noticing the pokémon's abscence, and looked around the tent. Nowhere to be seen. Ash's brown eyes did get caught on their picnic basket, though. It was tipped over nearby, and looked like something had stolen everything out of it. From here, Ash could see all the snacks - crackers and such - that his mother had packed were gone, and their packages ripped open. That little Bulbasaur had eaten all their food!

Ash wasn't mad, though. So the little guy ate their food. Oh, well. Ash Ketchum was an open minded little boy, and he didn't really care if the little Bulbasaur ate their food. Besides, his momma could make them something when they got back later, right? Right. For now, Ash just cuddled up to Gary, feeling at peace this fine morning. At peace, until Gary turned over on him, and the little boy squirmed, ultimately ending up knocking his best friend in the face by accident and of course waking the brunette up, and getting him up in a grumpy mood at that.

"Ash!" Gary scowled, sitting up, straddling Ash a bit just out of coincidence of course, and Ash sat up a bit, too. "That hurt!" Gary exclaimed, glaring as he held his cheek. Ash gave a frown as Gary got mad at him, not liking his best friend to be upset with him, and leaned up some. Gary watched as Ash put his head beside Gary's until Gary could no longer watch due to the angle, and soon he felt Ash nudging his head with his. "Bulba, Bulba," Ash murmured, and Gary's eyes softened, all anger dying away.

Gary nudged his head back against Ash's, turning his head a bit to look off to the side as he murmured, "Saur, saur - Ah!" Gary let out a loud noise of surprise, one that slightly hurt Ash's ears, as Ash pulled away a bit, to see what was wrong with his friend.

Gary, whom was naturally less easy going than Ash, had spotted their raided picnic basket, and all the snack packages that had been, obviously, ripped open by the teeth of a pokémon. His mouth fell open, and Ash couldn't help but smile. He tucked his head under his best friend's chin, and nuzzled against Gary's neck. Silly, silly Gary - being so quick to get mad. Well... that must've been why they were such good friends - opposites don't always have to attract in love, right? And hey, friendship has love, right? Right.

From now on, though, Gary immediantly decided all the camping out they would be doing would be camping in. He didn't like being stolen from, and he certainly didn't like someone depriving his best friend of something like snacks.

Ash could only go along with Gary's declaration about their camp outs from then on out, but hey - as long as Ash had his uptight best friend by his side, he didn't care whether they camped outside, inside, or half and half. So long as he had Gary, he didn't care where. And that was that.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>Naa, naa~ It wasn't horrible, neh? There might be some spellinggrammar mistakes; I wrote this quite some time ago and haven't revised it. I just mixed it in with this collection. Anyway, reviews are super duper welcome! Love ya, anyway! Since I'm not doing the Trilogy anymore I actually am going to have _lots _of time to do Palletshipping and other stuff, so check my profile frequently! I'm thinking about getting into writing some different Ash-shippings. I love him with EVERYONE, after all~

Love! PuddinPie.


	17. Author's Note on Writer's Block

**Author's Note on Writer's Block, written 12/18/2011. (...is it the 18th?)**

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><p>OK, so this is insanely embarassing, but the Palletshipping department of my imagination? Has been temporarily shut down, it seems. Really. I can't even begin to fathom what my next idea will be. I have some, but none that really sing to me, you know? So... Ahhhh...<p>

Anybody wanna give me a few ideas? Just throw some ideas/requests out there. I may go with one, I may not. I may combine some of your ideas. I might just got inspiration for something else from one. Eitherway, I'll give credit to the appropriate person/people. You know - "This chapter is courtesy of..." and "... inspired me to write this."

You pull me out of my writer's block? I'll love you oodles and noodles. But, ah...

I _have _ideas of my own, sort of. I just don't have much motivation to go on them. So, you don't have an idea or a request? Or you just wanna see what I'm thinking? Well... My few current ideas are:

❀ Ash and Gary are kids(toddlers, more specifically) and Ash is following Gary around ALL DAY. Doesn't sound like a good idea.

❀ A chapter about the very moment they met - they don't remember, but we can find out how I imagine it.

❀ A bully is bothering Ash - kind of like in _Playpen Punch Out_ only it'll be a bit more serious.

I dunno. People. If any of these sound good to the people who actually read this lame collection, I'll do 'em. Whichever ones you guys wanna read. There's just a mental block in my noggin right now for fanfiction... I think poetry must have put it there, because I've been writing A LOT of poetry lately...

Anyway, I love you guys, really, just not myself at the moment (when do I?) so, ah, see you later and I'm hoping this fail moment of mine goes away soon.

Love, PuddinPie.

**(。·_·。)**


	18. Author's Note on Break

Author's Note on Break.

Written Sunday, January 8th, 2012 by JordiiPordiiPuddinPie ((PuddinPie)):

OK, dears. I've been gone a while and I've promised several stories for Palletshipping. I even cancelled one because I couldn't get it up before Christmas because of my writer's block. I apologize. There'll be some new chapters up soon, I hope, and I really hate having to make another Author's Note when the last published chapter was one, too. But there are a few things I need to explain.

OK, so first off: The 24th and 25th days of December are important to a lot of people. Everyone knows that. I celebrate Christmas, so naturally I was busy at about that time. Sorry I couldn't get the Christmas chapter up. Really.

Then, the 28th, just after I was done with my shopping sprees from my Christmas money, I had to go to the dentist. Two teeth were pulled and I spent the next five days not eating, in pain, and basically just lazing around watching TV. I didn't feel like I could really do anything else. Eating was hard and when I finally got to eating my stomach had, I suppose, shrank some and it hurt to eat full meals. I wanted to puke.

As soon as the pain stopped, earlier this week, and I could eat normally again, I had to go back to the dentist. Cue more pain. Sorry. And now I have a Spanish project to do and I need to be studying for my exams this week. I know, it just seems like I'm making up excuses, but geez. And now that I've pushed off studying Palletshipping is, because of the Naruto kick I'm on, still not a top priority. But I'll get to it. Promise.

Pow, Pow, PuddinPie Out.

Ugh.


	19. Author's Note on Fin

Last Author's Note, written 01/22/2012.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>Alright, everyone. It's no secret I haven't been updating lately at all. M'sorry. I'm just, really, not into Palletshipping right now. And, above that, I just got a new Fanfiction account, so I'll be using that one instead of this one. Again, m'sorry. But I'll be doing more Palletshipping stuff on that one, eventually, so go check it out eventually! My new name is Yorudan.<p>

Anyway, thanks everyone for reviewing this and reading (feel like I should switch that... But I won't) and thanks for the serious support. Hopefully you'll read my other stuff later on, when there's actually stuff up~~

Thanks! -PuddinPie.

PS. Hope you enjoyed this oneshot collection at least a littleeee. 


	20. Author's Note on Continuation

**Author's Note, written Thursday, January 26th, 2012-Friday, January 27th, 2012.**

OK, so honestly? M'not getting rid of this account, I've decided. I've put a lot of work into it and I wanna keep going with it. Sorry for any confusion caused or whatever. Sorry for any trouble you readers have gone through since I announced I'd be abandoning this account, basically, and making another. If you've already subscribed to the other... Whoops. I might do something with it, but might not. We'll see. Doubt it. Anyway...

I'll be continuing with the story ideas I had/reviewers gave for _Palletshipping_. This collection shall go on! The plots are back on my profile, as well as a new one, and there's a poll I'd like everyone to vote on. And hurry! I'mma start writing the one people want me to do first on Monday! So get voting! Pleaseeee~

_Note: If I end up adding new things to the list, I may put off doing them. I wanna knock the current plots out of the park, first. Lol._

Thanksssss! PuddinPie.


	21. Welcome to Pallet

OK. First chapter in a longgggg time! Let's do this! Hope you like it!

I'M SAYING ANYTHING I NEED TO WRITE HERE, SO PAY ATTENTION. I'VE PUT THIS MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHAPTER THREE TIMES AND IT REFUSES TO SAVE IT. SO HERE! THANKS FOR READING, REVIEWING, SUBSCRIBING, AND VOTING. I'LL BE THANKING YOU ALL PERSONALLY NEXT CHAPTER, I THINK, BUT RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO GO DO DISHES. SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES; LIKE YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH THIS CAPITALIZED TEXT FANFICTION IS BEING STUPID FOR ME AND MESSING STUFF UP. PUDDINPIE OUT!

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN POKéMON. SHOOT!**

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><p><em>Welcome to Pallet<em>

"Honey, his head! Make sure you support his head!"

A laugh and the shuffling of feet could be heard.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm not used to this yet." The words caused a woman to giggle.

"Well, it's already been three months. You should look into learning how to hold your own son properly, dear. Maybe watch the way I hold him instead of cooing at him."

"Eh?" Mr. Ketchum stopped abruptly. His wife stopped beside him and giggled once more.

"It's true, dear. You always coo at him," the woman said, reaching out and taking her son from her husband. The black haired man graciously handed the child off to the brunette.

Blushing as he did so, Mr. Ketchum looked away. "Well, that's because his laugh is so darn cute. He gets it from you," the man looked back at his wife and child and leaned forward.

"Isn't that right, Ashy?" Mr. Ketchum cooed, reaching out and taking his small son's little hands in his and waving them a bit. Three month old Ash squealed softly and giggled. He'd just learned to laugh recently. And since then his father had let his mother hold him often, just so he could coo at him and play peek-a-boo. And he'd gladly own up to that.

Mrs. Ketchum giggled. "Alright, that's enough of that." The woman reached down and grabbed one of her husband's hands, taking it away from their child. His other hand dropped to his side, while his right gripped his wife's. "We have to go introduce ourselves to the pokémon professor here if you want a part time job."

"Ah, yeah." Mr. Ketchum gave a nod of agreement. And so the Ketchum couple continued their way down the dirt road that led up to Pallet's pokémon lab.

"Professor Oak, I've heard a lot about him. Hear he's supposed to be a great professor. He started working with pokémon really early, you know."

"Yes, honey, I know. You've told me every day since we decided to move to Pallet." Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "I think he'll be happy to hire you to help him out once he realizes how much you love pokémon. I bet he'll take one look at you and see the love for them in your eyes."

"Heh, maybe. If he can see past my love for you two." A smile eased onto his face and Mrs. Ketchum blushed. Smiling softly, she squeezed his hand and they exchanged a small peck before they walked on in silence.

The couple arrived at Professor Oak's labratory minutes later, little Ash having fallen asleep in Mrs. Ketchum's arms. Mr. Ketchum raised his hand, rapping his knuckles against the wooden door. A few seconds passed, then there was an urgent, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" The Ketchum couple exchanged a glance and Mr. Ketchum snickered.

Soon enough, the door was swung open. Mrs. Ketchum jumped slightly in surprise at the sudden movement as little Ash cooed softly and cuddled into her shirt.

In the doorway stood a man of average height and tan skin. His hair was a brown in color, though was becoming mixed with gray, surely from age. He was dressed in some dark brown dress pants and a pure white lab coat that hung over top of a purple shirt. He looked a bit dishevelled and Mr. Ketchum's attention was quickly caught by a Grimer sliding around on the floor behind the professor.

"Woah, hey there!" The black haired male crouched down on instinct and beckoned the Grimer over. It looked confused at first, but soon the purple, grimy creature was moving on over almost eagerly. Mr. Ketchum grinned and placed his hand on the Grimer's head, laughing at the feel. "Hey, buddy."

Smiling down at the sight of her husband and the Grimer, Mrs. Ketchum looked up at the man she presumed to be Professor Oak.

"Hello, I'm-"

"Yes, yes! You're the Ketchums, am I right? You moved in a week or so ago? Welcome, welcome! I'm Professor Oak, Pallet Town's pokémon professor!" The man reached forward and shook her hand. Mrs. Ketchum slowly smiled, taking note of the man's bright personality.

"It's nice to meet you."

Professor Oak gave another smile and let his hand extend itself to Mr. Ketchum, who grabbed it as he stood. The professor's eyes, black in color, wandered down to Ash, who was still fast asleep. The man chuckled.

"He's fairly young, isn't he? Congratulations. My son and his wife just had a baby boy a little under a year ago, themselves. In fact, he's here."

Right about then, as if on cue, a moving mass of brown hair and purple cloth came crawling up. The Ketchums stared down at the little moving bundle.

"Oh!" Mrs. Ketchum cooed immediately, crouching down in front of the bundle, still holding her own little boy to her chest. The man beside her smiled.

Having just arrived on the scene, slowly but surely, was Professor Oak's almost one year old grandson Gary, who was all naturally tan skin, thick brown hair, and stormy blue eyes. He supported a small pair of purple shorts and a matching purple shirt that had a confused Psyduck with a question mark floating tauntingly beside its head on the front, which left Mr. Ketchum to chuckle lightly under his breath. Professor Oak also smiled and crouched down carefully, scooping up his grandson. Mrs. Ketchum stood back up along with him, readjusting her son in her arms.

"This," Professor Oak began, "is Gary. He's my grandson. Say hi, Gary." The professor stepped forward just a bit so Gary, who was already looking at the strangers wide eyed and curious, could see Pallet's newest family better. "Gary, this is the Ketchums. They're new in town, you see, and they have a little boy just like-"

Professor Oak stopped midsentence and Mrs. Ketchum gasped as little Gary reached forward and grabbed Ash's small mass of jet black hair and pulled with both hands. The older boy pulled Ash's head away from his mother's chest and Gary leaned forward in Professor Oak's arms, bringing his face to the hair and biting. Another gasp.

"Gary!" Professor Oak said, surprised. There was a groan and little Ash woke up. Sensing something amiss, the little boy started to cry. Mr. Ketchum quickly stepped forward, placing his hand on his son's head and easing the boy's hair away from Gary. Ash fell back against his mother's chest, who tried to soothe him as he started to wail.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what that was. Gary!" Professor Oak looked down at the boy in his own arms, only to realize Gary was also tearing up. The little boy's lips shook and the corners of his eyes became teary. He stared at Ash and then threw his head back, nearly hitting his grandfather in the chin, and wailed as well. All three adults flinched.

"Oh, dear. Now they're both upset," Mrs. Ketchum stated, resisting the urge to put a hand over at least one of her ears, which her husband was already doing almost unmodestly beside her. Professor Oak was still flinching a bit. "It would seem these two may've started off on the wrong foot. I believe that-"

"Uh!" Gary suddenly interrupted, making the loud grunting noise and twisting in Professor Oak's arms a bit. He kept making the grunting noise, which caught the attention of Ash. The little black haired boy turned his head the best he could to look over his shoulder at the grunting boy. He looked scared, with wide eyes and a little hand clutching at his mother's shirt. Then...

His cheeks turned a rosey red, completely different from the angry color they'd been due to his crying, and he giggled. Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum stared down at their son as he started giggling at Gary who, in turn, stopped grunting and crying, holding still in his grandfather's arms. It took a moment, but Gary soon began to giggle as well, though his noises of joy came out more as true, strong laughs. Slowly, the adults all became graced with a smile.

"You were saying?" Mr. Ketchum asked with a grin, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"Ah... Nevermind." Professor Oak chuckled and Mrs. Ketchum just smiled.

"Ash, this is Gary," the brown haired woman cooed, stepping closer to Professor Oak and his grandson to properly introduce the boys now without taking Ash by surprise with rough hair pulling.

Ash watched with wide brown hues as he was taken closer to Gary. Gary stared back, blue eyes shining with innocent curiosity. Then the brunette squealed and giggled, reaching forward. Mrs. Ketchum smiled as Gary patted Ash's head, never once reaching to pull his hair again. Ash giggled.

And so, the Ketchums were invited in for tea by Professor Oak. Mr. Ketchum got a job working for Professor Oak, Mrs. Ketchum got to look around at all the pokémon, Ash and Gary both in her arms, and the two little boys, though no one noticed, stared around excitedly at everything Mrs. Ketchum cooed at, their little hands locked together loosely.

Everyone welcomed the Ketchums to Pallet Town graciously the next few weeks, but no one more than Gary did to Ash each and every time the two met.

And so a lifelong friendship was born.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>


	22. The One I Love the Most

_**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANYTHINGGGG.**_

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><p><em>The One I Love the Most<em>

_Click. Click._

_Click. Click. Click._

A wooden number two pencil drummed against the desk of Gary Oak as the nine year old flicked it between his fingers, making it tilt back and forth like a see saw. His stormy blue eyes gazed boredly towards the front of the classroom. He looked off to the side, peeking at his best friend, fellow nine year old Ash Ketchum, who was sitting in his own seat beside him, trying to use a pen to turn his big pink eraser into a Ditto. Gary snorted softly. Ash was such a goof.

"Ditto's aren't rectangular like that, Ashy Boy. It's not gonna look right," Gary told the younger boy, causing the black haired boy to look at him. Ash frowned.

"Well, it'll be close enough," Ash said and playfully stuck out his tongue. "It's not like it's gonna be a real Ditto, anyway, Gary."

Gary snickered.

"Whatever, Ash."

A broad grin broke out on the Ketchum boy's face and the slightly younger boy opened his mouth to say something back to his best friend, something he seemed to find important, as his brown eyes practically had grins of their own Their teacher spoke up first, however, catching the attention of the class. Ash and Gary both looked to the front.

"Now then, class," Miss Applebottom was saying, "There's only a few more minutes before the bell rings and you all get to go home. Before you start packing up, let me tell you your homework."

The whole class groaned at the very thought of having homework. Miss Applebottom huffed a bit.

"Now, now, children, don't be like that. You won't be having homework tomorrow night, because it's Friday, and you didn't have any last night. This is perfectly fair."

Gary had to agree, it was, but he still didn't like it.

Until he heard how easy it'd be.

"Now then," Miss Applebottom circled around to the front of her desk. "The instructions are simple." She started walking between two rows of perfectly aligned desks. As she passed Gary he couldn't help but think she smelt like honey and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Go home tonight and think of what, or who, you love most in the world. Write one paragraph and make sure to use proper spelling and grammar, always!"

Gary's eyebrows perked up. Loved most?

Gary's blue eyes glanced over at his best friend beside him, but Ash was still staring down at his pink eraser, concentrating harder than ever to draw a Ditto's face onto it. Just as Gary started to frown and was about to open his mouth and quietly scold Ash for not paying attention, Miss Applebottom stopped beside the Ketchum boy's desk and put her hand on the edge of it. The set of short, slender fingers invading his desk space caught Ash's eye, and he looked up.

"Did you hear the homework, Ash? Or do you think practicing your art skills is more important than listening to me?"

A few kids behind them snickered a little. Ash blushed and nodded.

"I heard you, Miss Applebo-"

The bell rang and all the kids in the classroom jumped up, hurrying over to their cubbies. Ash grinned and grabbed his eraser and pencil, getting up and sliding past Miss Applebottom, heading over to his cubby with Gary following behind him as Miss Applebottom sighed.

"Have a good day, kids. Do your homework!"

With that shouted after the kids, Miss Applebottom took a seat at her desk, stretching a bit. Her class tired her out, hence why, by the end of the day, sometimes she could be in a bad mood. The woman reached for a flower in a vase on the edge of her desk, taking it out briefly and sniffing it admiringly, giving a soft sigh.

After packing up their things and hoisting their backpacks up onto their shoulders, Ash and Gary followed their classmates out the classroom door and right outside. The two boys began their trek down the long dirt road that linked all of Pallet together, like a tree linking various branches.

"So, um, what's the homework, Gary?" Ash asked, glancing sideways at his friend as they walked. Gary snorted.

"I knew you weren't listening."

*He was too busy playing with that dumb eraser...* Gary thought almost bitterly. Hearing Ash huff, he was brought back out of his thoughts.

"I was concentrating!"

"Yeah, on an eraser."

Ash puffed his cheeks out in dismay, but Gary didn't notice, as he was staring straight ahead. They were already at the fork in the road that went in either the direction of his grandpa's lab or towards where most of the houses in Pallet Town were located. Gary stopped at the intersection, Ash stopping beside him on instinct.

"I have to go straight home today."

The statement was sudden.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

Ash frowned. Usually Gary went home with him in the afternoons and they played a while.

"Okay."

Gary started his trek up the dirt path that lead to his grandpa's house. Before he could go far, however, Ash called out to him.

"Ah, wait! What's our homework?"

He had to know. If he didn't start doing his homework he'd get into trouble soon enough. Momma wouldn't be happy about that.

Gary sighed.

"Go home and write about the thing you love the most in the world, Ashy Boy. Piece of cake."

It was so easy Gary knew even Ash would do it.

Ash blinked, watching Gary walk off as he answered the boy, and he giggled, suddenly excited. This homework would be easy!

"Okay! See you tomorrow!"

Gary heard Ash start walking again, this time faster than normal it seemed, as if he was eager to get somewhere, and the brunette glanced back with a hint of curiosity lurking in his eyes.

Ash was walking away from him, his pink, unfinished Ditto eraser back in his left hand and a pen, fished right out of his pocket, no doubt, in his right, scribbling away.

Gary scoffed and turned back towards his grandpa's lab, stalking off.

_Of course._

That night, both Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum went home and did their homework, each writing one paragraph about what they loved most. When Gary walked into class the next day he was surprised to find Ash already in his seat, smiling happily. Gary put his backpack in his cubby, only taking the folder he needed with him to his seat and a pencil. Sitting down, he looked over at Ash, who essentially had the same things with him. One folder, one pencil, and...

The Ditto eraser, poorly made, was sitting on the edge of Ash's desk. Gary rolled his eyes at how bad it looked. Ash had really been determined to finish it, hadn't he? Well... at least he had now.

Gary looked back at Ash.

"Did you do your homework?"

Ash looked at him, giving a blink, before grinning.

"Oh, yeah! I wrote the best paragraph ever!"

That statement left Gary smirking.

"Oh, yeah? What do you love most?"

He wanted to hear what his best friend had written about, but instead of getting the answer he wanted he got Ash's left index finger in his face, wagging back and forth.

"Can't tell you. You gotta wait!"

Gary scowled at Ash and swatted his hand away, but was left grinning soon enough. Heh.. he had a feeling he knew who Ash had written about...

But unfortunately, Miss Applebottom decided that everyone's hopefully wonderful paragraphs could be shared at the very end of the day, as they had a lot to do. And so, hours passed, filled with group work and activities, as well as a small quiz, and soon it was one thirty, just half an hour until the last bell.

"Okay, class! We can share the paragraphs we wrote for homework now!" Miss Applebottom announced. A hand shot up.

"Yes, Billy?"

"Did you write a paragraph, Miss Applebottom?"

The teacher's cheeks flushed a light pink and she shook her head.

"Well, no, I didn't, Billy."

"Can you tell us what you love most first?" A girl named Sue pressed on. Miss Applebottom looked unsure.

"Well, alright... A paragraph about what I love most." She thought briefly. "That'd be...

"My flower garden! I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely love my flower garden! It's difficult to manage during winter and many of the flowers die, then of course it's difficult to make some bloom once spring comes due to my not having a "green thumb" as they say. I love gardening, however. Roses, daisies, tulips... I've tried to create my own flowers in fact, unique to my garden, but unfortunately I haven't been able to yet. But one day.."

Miss Applebottom pumped her fist in the air, suddenly very zealous and inspirational.

"I'll do it! And then that froo froo next door will have to stop gloating about his astounding purple and green rose hybrids! And-"

A child in the crowd of kids seated at their desks laughed.

"Miss A's lost it," was whispered somewhere in the sea of kids. Miss Applebottom blushed and coughed, clearing her throat and straightening herself up.

"Anyway, that's what I love most. My flower garden and gardening in general. Now..." She glanced around. "Who wants to go first?"

Ash's hand was up in an instant.

Miss Applebottom caught sight of Ash's hand and her eyes trailed down to the young boy's eager face. She smiled.

"It's nice to see you did your homework, Ash. Come on up to the front, then. Let's hear it."

About a minute or so later Ash was at the front of the class with a slightly crumpled up piece of paper in his hand. He shifted on the stool Miss Applebottom kept at the front of the class, having seated himself there of his own accord without asking permission. Miss Applebottom didn't say anything, happy enough that Ash had done his homework.

"Okay, Ash, you may start."

Ash grinned and cleared his throat, holding his paper out in front of him to start to read from it with his arms straight like rails, rigid with excitement.

"The thing I love the most in the world is the best thing ever. They're really cool and magical and I'm around them a lot."

Gary smirked.

_I wouldn't say magical..._

"I love them so much that I wish I could live with them forever. Then I could play all day and I'd never be alone, ever! The thing I love the most in the whole wide world is..."

Gary smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. Here it came...

"Pokémon!"

Gary twitched.

_What?_

He stared, semi-wide eyed, towards the front of the classroom. Miss Applebottom smiled and started to clap as Ash hopped down from the stool. The other kids followed suit, but Gary's hands felt heavy on his chair, having fallen to his sides.

"That's great, Ash! I think we can all agree that pokémon are _very_ cool!" Miss Applebottom said, slowing down her claps until she had completely stopped. She put her hand to her chin, looking off to the side at one specific tile on the floor. "Except when the wild ones get into my flower garden..."

The rest of the class finished clapping, some continuing loudly to be obnoxious, as Ash returned to his seat, laying his crumpled paper out in front of him on his desk. He looked towards Gary.

"What'd you think, Gary? Great, wasn't I?" Ash asked.

Gary opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was unsure of what to say. Thankfully Miss Applebottom was, soon enough, shushing the class as another kid headed up.

And so Gary sat, staring down at his shoes under his desk, for the next sixteen minutes, until he was the last person left to go and there were just three minutes left of class.

"Okay, Gary. It's your turn now." Miss Applebottom patted the seat of the stool at the front of the class, figuring Gary would want to sit on it. The rest of the class had followed Ash's lead, each taking their own turn sitting on it and presenting their paragraphs.

Slowly, Gary slid his chair back and stood, taking his paper and going to the front of the class. He didn't exactly want to sit down on the stool, but he did and looked down at his paper, suddenly unsure if he wanted to say any of the stuff he'd written after all.

A few seconds passed with Gary just sitting on the stool, staring down at his paper. He flinched a bit as he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Miss Applebottom smiling down at him.

"Go on, Gary." She encouraged.

Slowly, Gary nodded and looked back down at his paper.

"The person I love the most in the whole world is someone I've been best friends with practically since he was born. Even though I can't remember that far back, my grandpa says that, even though I didn't like him at first, I ended up making him laugh and that's when we became friends. I'm always happy to have him around and I don't need another friend. We always have fun when we're together and tell each other things that we would never tell anyone else, and I think..."

Gary trailed off, suddenly hanging his head. In the audience Ash was smiling happily, yet he seemed a bit confused. Was Gary talking about him? But...

"...I_ thought_," Gary continued, "that he cared as much about me as I care about him, but I guess not. Because even though I wrote about him he went off and wrote about some stupid... stupid..."

Gary bit his lip. As baby-ish as it was, he felt his eyes filling with tears, hot and stinging.

"Pokémon! He wrote about stupid pokémon! Because they're stupid, and..." Gary hopped off the stool, alarming Miss Applebottom as he squeezed his eyes shut, crushing the paper in his hand as he balled his hands into fists.

"He's stupid! Ash is stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Many of the kids in the class gasped, as did Miss Applebottom. In his seat, Ash was sitting up straight, staring wide-eyed at Gary. He watched as the brunette threw down his paper, making it a point to stomp on it, which roused a cry of, "Gary!" from Miss Applebottom. Gary kicked the stool, almost making it tip over but not quite, and ran out of the class.

"Gary!" Miss Applebottom called after him, horrified.

The last bell rang and the teacher quickly picked up Gary's paper, left flat and slightly crumpled against the floor, and shuffled over to his seat. She grabbed his folder and pencil, hurrying over to his cubby and piling everything inside his backpack as she ran out after him, calling his name once more.

The class all stayed in their seats, quiet. Slowly, everyone came to look at Ash. Charles Clearwater, who sat behind Ash and off to the right, suddenly laughed.

"Hey, Ketchum, guess what? You're stupid."

The statement left Charles laughing as he got out of his seat and headed to his cubby, as well as some of his friends. Some of the kids left laughing at Gary's outburst, while others left quietly and Sue and her sister, Mae, stopped beside Ash's desk.

The black haired Ketchum boy was staring down at his lap, eyes as wide as ever and filling with tears. His hands, fisting his shorts like he was holding on for dear life, were shaking, as well as the rest of his body.

"Ash..." Sue mumbled quietly. She placed a hand on Ash's shoulder as a few tears dripped down the boy's face.

"Gary didn't mean that. You aren't stupid." She tried to comfort him.

Beside Sue, her sister propped herself up so she was leaning against Ash's desk, one hand on her hip.

"I dunno... If I had someone I'd call my best friend and they talked about something other than me even though I wrote about them... I'd call them stupid and storm off, too."

"Mae!" Sue scolded her sister. Mae frowned. "What? It's true."

"But I..." Ash reached up, rubbing at his eyes with his forearm in a desperate attempt to wide his tears away.

"What is it, Ash?" Sue asked quietly.

"How come you didn't talk about Gary, Ash? Is he not your best friend anymore? Did'ya make friends with some nice Nidorino somewhere? A Poliwhirl?" Mae asked with a mocking tone, pressing Ash on.

"Were you mad at him for something, Ash?"

"N-No... I just..."

"You just what, huh? Decided you liked pokémon better?" Mae asked. This time Sue reached out and uncharacteristically punched her sister in the arm.

"Ow! I'm telling Mom!"

Sue rolled her eyes.

"Go ahead, Mae. Go tell Mom." Sue insisted. Her sister huffed and spun on her heel, leaving.

Sue looked back towards Ash as there was a sob and, again, Ash simply said, "I..."

Frowning, Sue crouching down beside Ash a little, being careful in her pretty pink dress.

"You what, Ash?"

"I..."

Ash brought both hands up to his eyes, wiping them and covering his face.

"I didn't know we could choose people!"

Sue's eyes widened a bit as Ash broke down, leaning forward onto his desk and crying.

Slowly, she reached out and the sweet little girl rubbed circles into his back.

"Go tell him you didn't hear the directions right then, Ash. He'll understand."

Ash shook his head.

"I can't."

Sue frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because I..."

Ash buried his face into his arms.

"I made him cry."

The statement left Sue quiet for a couple minutes. She stared down at Ash as he cried and the little girl frowned, unsure of what she could possibly say to comfort him now.

Shuffling over to the cubbies, Sue got her backpack and the only other one still hanging, Ash's, and took them to Ash's desk. She carefully put his stuff inside his bag and zipped it, slinging her bag onto her back before picking his up and placing a hand on his back. Sue had always had a motherly personality.

"Come on, Ash, I'll walk you home." Sue offered.

And Ash stood up, crying still, and went with her. She helped him put on his bag by encouraging him to carry it and several times on their walk home, seeing as how they were actually neighbors, Sue tried to be comforting and hold his hand. Each time, however, Ash either knocked her hand away or simply moved his out of reach. And each time he'd say:

"You're not the one I love the most."

And only the one he loved the most could hold his hand like that.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

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><p>I'm actually proud of this one! I decided that in the end nothing would be resolved :3<p>

Sorry I haven't updated lately, guys, but that's why I made it a point to write this. I dunno how many people still read this, but I hope some do. I think I'll eventually pick back up on this problem - in the story - being resolved. When they're older.

I've been writing _King of the Castle_ since January and I started this story about two hours ago. And yet this story has a few more words than that one does. NICE. But that one will be done soon, I hope. I've had the idea since December, before Christmas. And now that I'm working on it it's become much longer than it was originally supposed to be. Lol.

TRUE FACT: Originally Ash was going to have just chosen pokemon over Gary, but then I decided they had a history together and turned it into a misunderstanding in terms of how Gary explained the homework to Ash. Does it work? :/

#oi, legend of korra, anyone? ;3


	23. King of the Castle  PREVIEW

**THIS IS A PREVIEW, WHICH WILL BE DELETED WHEN/IF THE FINISHED ONESHOT GOES UP. I NEED FEEDBACK GUISSSEEE. IT'S ALMOST SUMMER; WOULD YOU STILL WANT THIS?**

***ignore things like, "pokEmon" and such, please. It's my way, in the actual document on my PC, of telling myself all the places I'll have to go back and put the apostrophy when I upload it. Kukapow. And things with *...* are, well, things that I'd normally put in italics.**

***I'd also like any constructive criticism for this, if you do decide it'd be worth reading as a finished project. Me gusta.**

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><p><em> <strong>PREVIEW <strong>[King of the Castle] **PREVIEW**_

*Bulba. Bulllba.*

"Bulba. Bulllba!"

*Saur, saur!*

"Saur, saur!"

Six year old Gary Oak stared with bored, half lidded eyes from his seat on the couch as his best friend and fellow six year old, Ash Ketchum, played in front of the television in his grandpa's den. The little boy was settled on his hands and knees on the polished wooden floor, staring up at the television wide eyed, entranced and absolutely taken by the Bulbasaur moving around on the screen. Gary watched the Bulbasaur raise it's head, red eyes staring back at him and little mouth opening.

*Bulba. Bulbasaur! Saur..*

"Saur, saur!" Little Ash giggled. The six year old was having fun behaving like a pokEmon. Well, he was until he heard his best friend sigh, that is.

"What's wrong, Gary?" Ash asked, glancing back at his best friend over his shoulder to find the boy slumped across the couch cushions like he was about to die from boredom. Gary gave a grunt.

"There's nothing to do, Ashy Boy. It's snowing, but Grandpa won't let us go outside." Gary scowled at the very thought. It was a cold, snowy day in January, and here they were stuck inside because Gary's grandfather, Professor Oak, told them not to go outside. Gary didn't see why they couldn't. He usually let them play! He was just being an adult and asserting his power over them today by keeping them inside, Gary bet. Adults liked to order around kids; he knew that from his parents who were serious, strict, and assertive towards everyone, even one another.

The brunette sighed irritably and crossed his arms, causing Ash to frown from his spot on the floor. The frown carefully faded and Ash perked back up quickly. The boy raised his hand, flicking his finger's in an attempt to motion his best friend over.

"Come play with me, then!" The chipper little boy gave a big grin. Gary scowled and looked away.

"I don't wanna play Bulbasaur..."

Ash's smile melted into a frown once more. The little boy looked away, turning his gaze down to the floor.

He knew Gary was upset because Professor Oak had banned them from going outside in the snow today. He was sad, too... He wanted to play in the snow! There was so much today! But Professor Oak didn't want them outside. It wasn't fair, but Ash, being the bright little boy he was, was trying to look on the bright side of things. He was trying to get Gary to, too, but apparently the Oak boy just didn't want to even attempt being happy so long as he knew that the winter wonderland outside was off-limits for the day. Ash didn't blame him, but...

"Gary! Ash!" Professor Oak's voice rang throughout the room suddenly. Ash and Gary's heads both snapped up, both boys glancing over their shoulder's. Gary had to look over the back of the couch, too, to see his grandfather standing in the doorway, all smiles. He scowled and looked forward again.

"What do you want?"

"I have a surprise for you two. I hope I haven't ruined your whole day by telling you to stay inside, Gary." Gary frowned, keeping his eyes focused on the Cubone on Ash's yellow shirt as Ash got to his feet, eyeing the Professor with rich eyes of molten chocolate that shined with innocence and curiosity.

"What kinda surprise, Professor Oak?" Ash could hardly contain his excitement, his little hands clenching into fists as he stood on his tip toes. There was a chuckle.

"A very nice one, I assure you, Ash. But..." Professor Oak's eyes flicked to the back of his grandson's head. "It's for the both of you. For you to see it, Gary will have to come along, too."

Gary's hand, resting on an arm of the couch, flinched. In front of him, Ash blinked and pursed his lips. And, soon enough, the black haired little boy was in front of the brunette, standing so close to Gary that their shins bumped together.

"Come on, Gary! Your grandpa has a surprise for you! And me, too! The both of us!" Ash stuck his hands on his hips, frowning, as Gary mentally mused that his grandpa had just said that and Ash didn't need to repeat it. Did Ash not see what his grandfather was doing? Gary knew he was dense, but...

Lifting his head to stare into Ash's eyes for one, three, seven seconds, Gary finally sighed. Everyone knew he wouldn't hold something away from Ash, hence why his grandfather was refusing to show Ash without Gary now. When Gary was displeased with his grandpa, Professor Oak knew to use Gary's fondness of Ash to his advantage. If Gary didn't want to listen, all a person needed to do was mention Ash Ketchum and he would change his mind about anything almost immediately. This weakness in the six year old was the result of being best friends with the slightly younger boy since before he was a year old. Ash had come to be his other half, so to speak, who may as well have been attached to his hip. And everyone knew it.

"Fine."

Professor Oak's smile could be seen just barely peeking over the blue scarf wrapped around his neck. His grandson had come around, as always. He knew he would.

The good Professor wasn't the old one smiling. Little Ash was now grinning from ear to ear and he giggled, reaching forward and hugging one of Gary's arms to his chest. He pulled the boy up off the couch, the brunette letting himself follow Ash's movements willingly.

"What kind of surprise, Grandpa?" Gary gave a grunt, looking down at his and Ash's feet as Ash stopped pulling him and the black haired little boy looked back to the Professor. Gary watched Ash move his left foot on top of his right, moving his foot against the skin there, and assumed his friend was scratching an itch. Dummy.

Meanwhile, as he stood and watched the two boys, Professor Oak's smile spread out across his face.

"I've been spending the morning outside in the snow, observing the ice and water pokEmon, as you know. I've had some of them make you something."

Both Ash and Gary perked up at the statement. Having caught their attention, Professor Oak continued to reel the two boys in, hoping to make his grandson's bad mood fade away.

"The pokEmon made us something?"

"What, what?" Ash hopped up and down eagerly, hands resting on Gary's arm at this point, and the brunette subconsiously pulled his arm away. Ash pouted, but the little boy smiled again as Gary gave his arm a little nudge.

"It's a surprise, remember?" Professor Oak laughed, giving a wink. "You two go get ready and come outside. I'll be waiting for you."

With the instructions given, Professor Oak turned and left the den. Ash and Gary both watched the doorway the Professor had been standing in until they heard the back door open and shut. Then the ball began to roll.

"A surprise, Gary! A surprise! Come on, hurry up!" Ash grabbed Gary's hands briefly, shaking them excitedly, before he broke away again.

Ash ran towards the doorway, yanking his blue winter coat down from it's position on a hook on the wall. As the little boy excitedly tried to put on his coat, slipping one arm in one sleeve and having some trouble fitting his other arm into the other, Gary made it a point to pick up the remote from the floor where Ash had left it. He turned off the television, a small grin creeping onto his own face, before he placed the remote on top of the television and turned quickly on his heel, joining Ash by the door just as said other little boy was finally getting his coat zipped up.

Unlike Ash, Gary bent down and picked up his shoes from their spot on the floor just under where his coat hung first. Plopping down on his butt on the floor, Gary started slipping on one of his shoes. He tied it, moving onto the other. Ash sat down beside his friend and the black haired little boy pulled his own pair of shoes towards him, following Gary's lead. Ash slipped on one shoe and tied it, just getting the heel of his foot in his other shoe when Gary stood up, taking his own purple coat off one of the hooks and slipping it on.

Once the two boys had both their shoes tied and coats zipped up, they each grabbed their own pair of mittens, made by Ash's mother the Christmas before. Ash grabbed the green scarf he'd worn over to Professor Oak's, wrapping it around his neck, as well.

"Let's go!"

And so the two set off, running out of the den and through Professor Oak's house until they got to his back door. Ash tugged the door open and Gary ran on through, Ash following close behind as they ran out onto the small back porch, ready to spring on down the steps.

"Not going to wait for me, boys?" The voice came out of nowhere and both boys jumped, their head's snapping to look to their right.

Professor Oak was sitting there, on a wooden bench, smiling.

"Grandpa!"

The Professor chuckled and stood, folding his arms behind his back.

"Come on, let's go."

The Professor headed towards the steps, going down them carefully as they were covered in snow. The boys followed, Ash hanging onto Gary's coat sleeve.

The entire back pasture that Professor Oak used to maintain the pokEmon he kept outside during the day was covered in snow. Many pokEmon were outside, though today the Professor was only letting the ice and water pokEmon out of their pokEballs, seeing as how they were best suited for this climate. Ash gazed around curiously at all the pokEmon they passed, reaching out to some every now and then, as Professor Oak led them further out into the endless fields. Gary was also looking at the pokEmon and, a time or two, gave a quick jerk of his arm, which Ash was still holding onto, to stop Ash from, say, trying to pet a Vaporeon on it's horn, which he'd always tried to do since they were really, really small. Ash huffed, before glancing up and gasping. Gary also looked up and straight ahead. He straightened up quickly, alert.

In front of them, towering high overhead, was none other than a large, sparkling castle made, it would seem, entirely of ice and snow. The little boys stared up at the monument in awe, Professor Oak standing just behind them with a smile on his face. Several pokEmon were gathered around the shining monument: a Wartortle, Jinx, Golduck, and Poliwrath. Each seemed to be putting their own finishing touches on the castle. The Poliwrath stood off to the right, patting the snow that made up one of the towers of the castle. Beside it, around the corner, Gary recognized the curled blue tail of the Wartortle, who was helping Poliwrath. Nearby, Golduck had both of it's hands braced against a wall of the castle, pushing against it to make sure it was sturdy. Jinx stood back, observing.

Professor Oak shifted a bit and the boys started to move into action.

"Wow!"

"Let's go, Ash!"

"Okay!"

The two little boys took off towards the castle, entering through a doorway placed in the dead center of the front of the castle, unaccompanied by a door of any kind. As they ran through they called, Gary to his left and Ash to his right, a yell of, "Thanks!" to the pokEmon.

Running through the castle proved to be fun in and of itself. With the way it was built it was like heading up a spiral staircase, constantly curving to the right. Ash and Gary explored the castle, each pointing out things they found cool, before Gary turned to Ash.

"I'll be right back!"

"Okay!"

With a nod, the brunette turned back and headed back the way they had came while his younger friend continued going up, his goal the very top of the castle's main tower. He couldn't wait to see the view from the very top!

Meanwhile, back with Professor Oak, the good Professor had taken to having a seemingly good conversation with the Jinx who'd helped build the shimmering masterpiece. Each nodded their heads and Jinx made many hand gestures to get her points across, causing Professor Oak to give multiple mumbles of, "Oh, really?" and "I see, I see!"

When Gary exited out of the snow castle and approached the two conversationalists, the young boy stopped a few feet from them and tilted his head, an eyebrow raising as his small mouth dipped down right into a frown.

*Jinx! Jinx, Jinx... Jinx!*

"Ah, yes! I see, Jinx! That must have been an unpleasant vacation for you!"

*Jinx, Jinx!*

"Ah, your dress?"

*Jinx, Jinx, Jinx! Jinx, Jinx, Jinnnnnxxxx!*

"Oh, my! Your trainer tried to dress you in a Hawaiian shirt? That Lori!"

*Jinx, Jinx!*

"Now, now, Jinx. I'm sure she thought you'd look wonderful in it!"

At that attempt at comfort from Professor Oak, Jinx's face suddenly looked longer, her already buldging looking eyes coming to be even wider and her mouth, pink lips shining, starting to tremble.

*Jinx, Jinx... Jinnxxxxxxxxx!*

The pokEmon broke out into wails, reacting dramatically. Professor Oak panicked as the distressed pokEmon clung onto him, rubbing her face against his cheek as she cried hysterically, and carefully tried to push Jinx away.

"I'm sorry, Jinx!" The Professor apologized quickly, but the apology didn't soothe the wailing Jinx.

Had Ash Ketchum been standing there, watching the two, he would have been giggling uncontrollably out of both childish humor and confusion at the situation. Gary Oak was there instead, however, and was a witness that found the situation awkward and strange. At some point, around the time his grandfather had mentioned the Hawaiian shirt, the young boy had managed to recall reading a story to Ash once at school just a week before about a lost Jinx who had wandered, seemingly forever, looking for it's trainer and using it's strange mind powers to project the image of it's trainer into the minds of anyone it passed. That was right: Jinx was a practicer of telepathy, right? Yes. And so, from then on, it'd been easy for Gary to understand how the conversation between the pokEmon and his grandfather had been able to take place.

Watching the distressed, wailing Jinx now, Gary couldn't help but wonder how what his grandfather had said could have made the pokEmon so upset. Soon enough, he got his answer.

*Jinx, Jinx, Jinx!*

"Yes, you're right, Jinx!"

*Jinx, Jinx!*

"Yes, I know green is not your color, Jinx!"

Gary watched as the pokEmon briefly stopped it's crying and held still, holding his grandfather against herself with wide eyes that seemed to be staring off into space. Professor Oak held his breath, eyes shut as he waited. He knew how fickle a Jinx could be. Just because the crying had stopped did not mean it wouldn't start again.

Gary seemed to have the same hunch and the little boy wasn't surprised in the slightest when the Jinx started wailing again, louder this time than the time before. Professor Oak gave a small yelp as the Jinx crushed him in a tight hug and Gary winced, his mitten donning hands coming up to cover his ears. He needed to stop this, for both their sake's.

"Grandpa."

Professor Oak, eyes squeezed shut once more and held against Jinx, couldn't hear his grandson over the pokEmon's cries, staying unaware of his grandson's prescence.

"Grandpa."

Still nothing.

"Grandpaaaa!" The little boy made it a point to put his all into it this time.

Professor Oak and Jinx both stopped, alert, and looked at the little boy, staring at him. Gary stared back.

Two seconds passed, then three, four, five and six. Then...

"There's no need to be so loud, Gary."

The young Oak boy covered his face with his hand, shaking his head.

*Oh, Grandpa...*

Meanwhile, up in the castle, Ash Ketchum finally reached the very top of the castle. It was tricky to keep turning to the right up the curving slope inside the castle, especially without Gary there to reach out and grab him when he started to slip and slide. But Ash perservered and finally came out at the very top of the castle's main tower, entering out onto a small balcony sort of deck through another doorless doorway.

"Wow!"

The boy quickly ran to the edge of the balcony, bracing his hands against it and looking out across the fields. He could see everything from up here! A group of Vaporeon sliding across a pond glazed over with ice off to his left and some Squirtles, Wartortles, and a single Blastoise hitting against their shells with frozen icecycles, playing each other's backs like drums, to his right. Ash laughed happily, bending and unbending his knees where he stood to let out his excitement as perhaps one of the biggest grins of his life took hold of his face.

*Psy?* came suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, and Ash jumped. The little boy turned around to find, low and behold, a Psyduck standing in the doorway, hands on it's own tilted head.

Ash gave a blink, watching as the Psyduck tilted its head to the other side. The young boy, subconsiously, tilted his own head, following the pokEmon's movements. The Psyduck proceeded to tilt his head even further to the right, to the point where it almost looked rather awkward. Ash giggled and stepped towards the pokEmon, reaching up and running his hand across its yellow feathers.

"Did you help build this castle?" Ash asked.

The Psyduck tilted its head again questioningly, this time to the left. Ash laughed again.

"Thanks!" The boy embraced the pokEmon, hugging Psyduck around the neck. Then he let go and turned, eagerly but carefully heading back to the edge of the balcony. Brown eyes scanned the snowy landscape again before casting themselves downward, focusing in on the two humans and pokEmon below.

Ash watched with curious eyes as down below his best friend hung his head, looking away from his grandpa and covering his face with his hand as the Jinx, which had been hanging onto Professor Oak, let go. Ash giggled.

"Gary! Professor Oak! Look, look!"

The old professor and his grandson both looked up to spot Ash standing on the balcony. The six year old waved his arms, laughing happily. The Psyduck came up beside Ash, peering down at Professor Oak and Gary as well.

* * *

><p><strong>PREVIEW END<strong>

* * *

><p>...And that's where I'm stuck at. This is only, like, half of the story, but yeah... I have OCD, like, badly, so... the next part really needs to flow right in my head. Or else. Kukapow.<p>

I dunno when a finished version of this would actually go up; I'm caught between Naruto and the Legend of Korra right now in terms of my obsessions. Blah. But can you blame me?

Thanks for reading ;_;


	24. Author's Note on Summer

**AUTHOR'S NOTE WRITTEN TUESDAY, 06/05/2012.**

Yo, guys! It's Jo, don'tcha know, kukapowpow? How are you guys doing today? I know what you all must be thinking. _"Oh, God, ANOTHER Author's Note? Doesn't she have ENOUGH of those?"_ Well, yes, it is, and, yes, I do. But THIS Author's Note I think actually serves a purpose. And that is to tell you guys a few things. Hope you're ready to listen.

First off: school. Big chunk of my life and the thing that keeps me from writing oneshots for this collection, typically. My last day is tomorrow; I have to go in to take my English III exam and then I am free to officially take the summer to transition from a high school junior to a senior. Be happy for me. And what will I be doing during the summer? What I typically do: not much of anything. I have no life; I'm introverted and dislike hanging out with others a lot. That's just how it is. My plans for this summer? Writing. Expect WAY more Palletshipping oneshots for this collection; there's a Date to Publish schedule below all this. You can skip on down, if you want. And what else will I be doing? Playing Animal Crossing obsessively. Which brings me to my next thing.

It's been forever since I've had people over to play Animal Crossing with me and this summer I'd love to have some guests, if anyone's interested. If you have been reviewing/are subscribed to/just flat out read this collection and think it's okay and you have Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii I would LOVE to get together and hang out with you. You can come to Smiles or I can go wherever. I think it'd be fun. I can actually semi-meet some of you people and we can all be friends :D

If anyone is interested in that, here's all my information:

**Name: Jordan **  
><strong>Town: Smiles <strong>  
><strong>Friend Code: 4728-0519-8303<strong>

I think that's all that's required. Pretty sure. So yeah. If you wanna venture on over to ol' Smiles and hang out, I'd totally be game. But I have the funny feeling no one will. No me gusta, kukapow. But if you are interested and you're a fellow member of then you can just PM me your stuff or leave it in a review. If you're an Anon. then you'll surely have to just leave your stuff in a review, although really I don't think many Anons read this collection. Surely not many. But yeah! That's what I wanted to say about that. I'll also have to ask that anyone that DOES come over sticks to the fully connected path that runs through my entire town. It's ugly and Grade D, the path that is, but you can get to anywhere you'd seriously need to go by following it. If you can't get somewhere on it, it means you don't need to go there. LOL. Sorry, sorry. I know: I'm asking for visitors and making rules. Please understand that I made the horrible move of playing City Folk obsessively back in, like, Winter 2011. In City Folk, as many of yu will know, your grass wears away after awhile, especially in winter. So yeah; I'm just asking you to keep to the paths so my grass can grow back. It's in the early, early, EARLY stages of recovery right now. Walk on it once and it'll all be gone. Sucks, yeah?

OK, OK, that is that. Now let's get to the part of this Author's Note that actually deals with this collection. As many of you know, the few who care about this collection, I haven't really been writing lately and publishing new stuff. I'm super sorry! Like I said earlier, school keeps me busy, but tomorrow is my last day and then I'll be out for summer and have all the time in the world to write. So! From now on every Thursday, I've decided, I will be publishing a new oneshot here in this Palletshipping collection of mine. Why every Thursday, you ask? Well, it was originally going to be Mondays, and then I remembered that Tsuritama is nearly finished with - give me a big WOOT if you're a fan - and once it's over I'll need something to perk up my Thursdays in it's place. So yeah. That weekly publication will be starting NEXT Thursday, 06/14/2012. There will be some random ones up within this coming week, however, but not including any finished product of _King of the Castle. _I've just lost motivation and I'm not finishing it. The preview will be it, I guess. But I'll publish something short in it's place. I'm going to be writing a new oneshot at least once weekly for the ENTIRE SUMMER. Whoo! ...Whoo? Aha. So yes, that's that and you can take a gander at my publication schedule below.

**Planned Dates of Publication**

_Note: Titles in italics are actual titles. The rest are simply the theme of the oneshot. Ex. _Lost - Ash and Gary get lost._ /this example isn't an actual plot that can be located on this schedule. Just saying._

**Undecided** **- Fri. 06/08/2012**  
>Dentist - Mon. 0611/2012  
><em>To Raise a Seaking<em> - Thur. 06/14/2012  
>Grocery Store - Thur. 0621/2012  
>Crush - Thur. 0628/2012  
>4th of July - Wed. 0704/2012  
><strong>*<strong>_Let's Light the Way_ - Thur. 07/05/2012  
>I'm Sorry - Thur. 0712/2012  
><em>Midnight Movie Mayhem<em> - Thur. 07/19/2012  
><em>Say You're Sorry!<em> - Thur. 07/26/2012  
>Bully - Thur. 0802/2012  
><strong>Undecided - Thur. 0809/2012 **  
><strong>Undecided - Thur. 0816/2012 **  
><strong>Undecided - Thur. 0823/2012**

*****_I've attempted this story three-four times before and have failed miserably each time. It's plot is meant to be based off of a story of one of my ancestors. I could use some help, so if you're interested in lending a hand please PM me. Thanks._

There may, obviously, be other random oneshots thrown in amongst all this, but these are the PLANNED ones so far. As you can see, I have three Thursdays without something already planned starting in the middle of August and extending to the 23rd. I typically start school between the 25th and 28th. Keep that in my mind and if you have any ideas as to how to fill these currently blank weeks, I'm all ears. Erm, eyes :]

So, yeah, you guys. Thanks for your time, I'm sorry for another Author's Note. I hope you didn't exactly hate this one and I also hope to see some of you walking through Smiles' gates sometime soon and I'd like to see some of your gorgeous towns :D

**PLEASE NOTE: THE ONLY REASON THESE DATES WOULD BE ALTERED IS IF SOMETHING HAPPENS IN MY FAMILY OR WITH ME. MY MOM IS EITHER GOING THROUGH A MID-LIFE CRISIS OR NERVOUS BREAKDOWN RIGHT NOW - OR PERHAPS BOTH, CONSIDERING THEY'RE BASICALLY FIRST COUSINS. SHE'S A BALL OF NERVES AND THAT MAKES ME A BALL OF NERVES. I DUNNO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH HER. BUT YEAH. ONLY THAT WOULD REALLY CHANGE ANYTHING.**

THANKS FOR READING THIS LONGGGGG AUTHOR'S NOTE AND NOT PUNCHING ME IN THE FACE! SEE YOU GUYS LATER :D

Also, thanks for reading, reviewing, subscribing, favoriting, and yadda ya! I love you and I don't even know any of you!

Love, with lots and lots and lots of chocolate dipped, cherry-topped love, PuddinPie.

**NOTE, ADDED 06/05/2012 9:20PM EASTERN TIME: I JUST THOUGHT OF THE CUTEST JUNK FOR FRIDAY, BUT M'NOT GONNA TELL YOU GUISEEEE.**


	25. Scarred Cheeks

**Disclaimer: DON'T OWN.**

_Summary: Gary tries to figure out the mystery behind Ash's cheeks. What are they?_

* * *

><p><em>Scarred Cheeks<em>

"Pa, pa, pa, pa."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh!"

"Papla plap!"

"Uh!"

"Uh?"

"...Pa!"

Inside the crib of the Ketchum family's youngest member, four and a half month old Ash, sat said infant and his best friend, Gary Oak.

"Pa chi. Chi chi!"

Gurgles and other chants made up of nothing but gibberish exploded out of Gary's mouth as he sat in the crib with young Ash, excitedly slapping the top of one of Ash's toys. The current victim of the young boy's energy was a Vileplume plushie, all quiet and helpless. Tucked between his legs and having its plush petals smacked like an out-of-tune, aggressive lumberjack would play the keys of a piano, the large seam that ran down the Vileplume's side was already torn open.

The toy was new, having just been given to Ash a few days before by one of Delia Ketchum's aunts who insisted on giving the family's new baby mountains of gifts every month on the 22nd. Plushies, new rattles, she gave it all. Delia constantly explained it wasn't necessary, but it was hard to argue with Scarlet Ketchum Steele. The woman did whatever she wanted. Little Ash didn't seem to mind, though, and neither did Gary, who was able to play with the new toys more than Ash because he was older and had more of his minor motor skills developed.

They'd both played a hand in tearing the poor Vileplume open, truth be told. Gary had held and Ash had pulled with all his little baby might. They'd had exceptional teamwork and the side of the plushie had just ripped open and spilled its cotton guts everywhere. Delia hadn't caught sight of the rip in the toy yet, but she would soon enough. Then she'd have to stuff the cotton back in and sow it back up.

As Gary continued to smack at the Vileplume's petals, little Ash watched just inches away. Leaned back against the crib's bars, he was drinking from his bottle, watching Gary curiously with large brown eyes. He peered around his room. Painted blue and covered with toys, all a Pokémon sort, it contained a play pen, changing table, crib and a dresser with a mirror on top that was supposed to pass for a makeshift vanity table. His dad had constructed it well enough. His mother called it, "painfully charming."

For the next few minutes Gary continued to play solo, only glancing up once he was left panting, having tired himself out from innocently beating the Vileplume silly. As he huffed and puffed, he stared at Ash, who stared back as he sucked on his bottle, blinking a time or two. Gary watched the bottle move back and forth as Ash drank and soon enough the brunette's blue eyes were drifting just a bit upwards.

Gary tilted his head to the side, his hands finally resting on top of the Vileplume calmly.

What were those things on Ash's face? Right under his eyes? Those marks on his face?

The brunette reached both of his hands up, placing them on his own cheeks and rubbing lightly.

He didn't think he had those, too... Or did he? Were they there? On his face? Why hadn't anyone told him?

The boy flinched and with a small amount of struggle, Gary pushed the Vileplume plushie away and grabbed the bars of the crib. He used them to stand up and placed his hands on top of the crib's fencing, peering over into the mirror of the vanity table had made.

One of Gary's hands left the crib, then the other. He placed his hands back on his cheeks, pulling at his face. He made funny faces, pulled his cheeks all sorts of ways, and even used his hands to push on his cheeks and puff them up. He never saw any markings.

Slowly, carefully, Gary turned around and sunk back down into a sitting position in the crib. The brunette peered over at Ash, who was still sitting, drinking innocently from his bottle.

Placing a hand on the crib's mattress, Gary leaned forward and reached for Ash with his right hand.

Ash scrunched up his face and took his mouth off his bottle, reaching out and trying to push Gary's hand away the best he could. Gary couldn't have his bottle! No!

That was what Ash presumed Gary was after, anyway. And Ash Ketchum_ did not_ share his bottles.

Gary frowned. He looked around, soon grabbing the corner of Ash's blanket. Leaning forward even farther than he had the first time, he grabbed Ash's offending hand and brought the hem of the blanket to Ash's face with his other hand. Gary began to rub at one of Ash's cheeks, trying to scrub the markings away thinking they were dirt.

The little black haired boy proceeded to squirm and whine and, with his bottle still in hand, swung at Gary. The brunette quickly backed off. Sitting back and far out of Ash's range, Gary huffed.

Seconds later, the brunette was reaching up, touching his own face all over again.

Why did Ash wanna keep that dirt on his face? What if it wasn't dirt? What if those were booboos? Booboos hurt... Maybe that was why Ash didn't want him to touch them?

Gary's blue eyes widened and a light bulb went off in his small head. That must have been it!

Gary leaned forward again, suddenly determined to see if his friend was okay, but Ash swung at him again, this time angrily. Gary leaned back again and, for the first time in his life, glared. The Oak boy stared hard at his friend, who stared back with his own scrunched up face and burning chocolate eyes. The air was tense and soon enough Gary was reaching for Ash's bottle, snatching it from his hands and leaving Ash to gasp.

His _bottle!_

As things got tense and both boys were having their own quiet hissy fits inside, was outside working on her garden, trusting the boys were alright inside.

* * *

><p>September sunshine drifted in through the open back door of the Ketchum household. As a light breeze blew to the west, sweeping fallen leaves across the back porch and into the laundry room, Delia Ketchum came up the back steps.<p>

Heaving a heavy sigh and wiping the sweat from her forehead with one of her many handy dandy handkerchiefs, the brunette woman inwardly pondered how on earth it could still be so hot in September. It had just turned fall, but with these hot temperatures you would think it was the middle of summer!

"At least these breezes are nice and cool, isn't that right?" Delia asked the open air.

The woman peered down, smiling at the leaves that had been blown into her house. She gazed upon them fondly, as if they were the little children of the large tree in their back yard, having ventured farther from home than their mother allowed, and grabbed her broom. Delia swept the leaves out of her house and across her back porch, back outside into Mother Nature.

With a smile and a hand on her hip, the new mother watched as the wind picked the fallen leaves back up. Spiriting them high into the sky and sending them on a wild ride, the wind rustled the leaves of the tree they had fallen from as it went, leading more to fall.

Delia stayed where she was, smiling at the sky, until soft noises from inside the house reached her ears. The woman giggled, assuming the boys were inside playing, and turned around, heading back into the house. Shutting the door behind her and leaning her trusty broom back up against the wall, the woman slipped off her gardening gloves and moved into the kitchen to start lunch.

As she turned on one of the stove's burners and began to hum, there was suddenly a loud wail. Delia dropped the pot she'd just taken into her hand, the metal hitting the stove with a loud clatter.

"Ash?" The woman rushed out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

Down the hall and to the right was the baby's room. Delia stumbled on the rug in the hallway, tripping, but regained her balance quickly and continued on.

Flying into the room, Delia stopped just inside the doorway. Slightly huffing, her brown eyes darted to her son's crib and she gasped.

"_Gary!_ What are you doing?"

"Uh?"

Low and behold, in the crib sat Gary Oak, Ash's bottle in his hands, pointed forward. Ash was struggling against the bars of the crib, squirming and screaming, his face and cute Jolteon shirt covered in milk.

The mother darted over to the crib, quickly snatching Ash up as Gary dropped the bottle on instinct and the woman began to scold him.

"Why would you do that, Gary? That's very, very naughty! Look, you made Ash cry!"

The woman turned to look into her son's face and softly began to coo him, shushing him quietly. Reaching into the pocket of her overalls, she pulled out another of her handy dandy handkerchiefs, this one with a cute little Oddish on it and purple, lacy lining that Ash had proved to be fond of in the past. She carefully wiped the milk from her son's red face, quietly telling him it was alright.

"It's okay, Ashy. You're fine, you're fine."

Delia leaned her son's head against her shoulder as his cries got quieter and the woman looked down at Gary.

"Time out, Gary."

Oh, Gary hated time outs.

The angered young mother, holding her son against her chest, bent down and picked Gary up with her other arm. The little boy held on as she stepped over to the play pen and placed him in it. He immediately fell onto his butt, starting to pout. Delia caught sight of the look.

"Ten minutes, Gary."

"Uhhhh!"

Delia frowned as the boy started to squirm in the play pen, angered at being placed in time out. As he started to throw a hissy fit Ash began to cry loudly again and the brunette boy in the pen stopped crying on instinct.

"...Uh?"

"See, Gary? You're making Ash cry again. Just stay in time out until I say so, alright?"

Delia turned, going back to cooing her son, and carried him out of the room.

"Come on, sweetie, let's go get you cleaned up and changed."

As Delia left the room Gary, in the play pen, carefully stood up and leaned against the pen's fence. Gosh, he hadn't meant to make Ash cry... He'd thought the milk would do something! Really! It was nothing to put him in time out over; he'd been trying to help!

Gary pouted and sat down, touching his face again and once more pondering what those marks on his friend's face could have been. It wasn't dirt, or else the milk would've washed it away. Right? But it couldn't be booboos, because Ash had stopped crying so loudly when his momma had wiped his face. Then what were they?

Gary leaned back against the pen's fencing and crossed his arms, huffing. He just didn't understand it. But...

He'd made Ash sad. He understood that.

The little boy dropped his arm's to his sides, resting his hands in his lap and playing with the string of his little purple shorts. He didn't mean to make Ash cry... He was a bad friend!

"Uhhh..."

Gary began to make small crying noises, although actual tears did not fall from his eyes. He sat there in the play pen, making the noise until came in, carrying Ash. The little boy was calm and his Jolteon shirt was gone; in its place was a simple red one.

Delia looked over at the sulking Oak boy as the noises he was making reached her ears and she frowned. Checking her wrist watch, she realized he still had two minutes, but the new mother decided to end his time out, anyway.

After placing her son back in his crib, this time laying down, Delia turned and approached the play pen. Gary looked up just as bent down, picking him up.

"Okay, sweetie, your time out is over."

"Uh! Uh, uh, uh!"

Immediately, Gary was reaching for Ash, wanting to be reunited with his best friend. Delia smiled a bit hesitantly, but placed the boy in the crib beside her son, anyway.

"Okay, Gary, here's Ash. No more spraying milk in his face, alright?"

As his butt touched the mattress Gary, as if he truly understood, nodded his head rapidly. Delia giggled, whispered a quiet, "Alright," and left.

And so the two boys were alone again.

Gary sat in his respective place, staring at Ash. The younger boy stared back. Gary looked around the crib and, upon spotting Ash's bottle, picked it up and nudged Ash's Ash's hand with it. Ash took it the best he could, lifting it to his mouth and sucking. The two stayed like that for awhile. Ash drinking and Gary watching.

Eventually, Gary moved closer to Ash and laid down beside him. Ash stared at him curiously and, carefully, the black haired little boy lifted his free hand. Slightly shaky and unsteady, Ash grabbed two of Gary's fingers in his little hand and placed them on one of his cheeks. Gary blinked as the pads of his fingers touched Ash's cheek, which was surprisingly smooth.

Rubbing the tips of his fingers against Ash's cheeks, slowly rubbing in circles, Gary soon put his entire hand on Ash's cheek, rubbing it, feeling it. It was so... soft!

Gary giggled and put his other hand on Ash's other cheek. It was soft, too!

Giggling some more, Gary rubbed Ash's cheeks in circles, then began pulling at Ash's face and pushing Ash's cheeks upwards. The baby choked on his milk and coughed a bit, causing Gary to quickly stop, alert. Ash managed to swallow, however, and Gary went back to rubbing his cheeks, not pushing or pulling his face in fear he'd make Ash choke again.

Grabbing both of Ash's cheeks, Gary leaned forward and kissed one to say sorry, causing Ash to giggle, finally. Gary smiled, happy to have made Ash laugh, and kissed the other. Ash giggled and squirmed a bit. Gary giggled and kissed the other again. More giggling from Ash. And, suddenly, all Gary could see was the bottle.

"Uh?

"Heeheee!"

Ash sprayed Gary in the face with the milk from his bottle.

Gary shot up in the crib quickly. Milk poured down his face, dripping into his shirt, and Gary just sat there, blinking.

"Uh?"

Ash laid where he was, giggling and squirming as Gary tried to register what had just happened.

And the mischief maker's mother appeared in the doorway, having come to check on the boys, and covered her face with her hand as she caught sight of Gary.

"Oh, boy... I'll see if your grandfather packed you some extra clothes, Gary."

With that said, Delia turned and headed for the living room to see just what all was in Gary's diaper bag.

* * *

><p>A few years later, Gary again wondered what the marks on Ash's cheeks were, but instead of going to great lengths to find out, he just asked Ash.<p>

They were special marks that the Pidgeot that had delivered him to his parents had drawn on his face with a magic pen was the answer he got, straight from Ash.

Even as a kid, Gary knew that was a big story, but he just rolled with it. As he got older he decided that Ash just had scarred cheeks, but... For some reason he had this strange fear that if he said anything about them and upset Ash, he'd go spraying his drink in his face...

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>

* * *

><p>This was going <em>so well <em>in the beginning. Towards the end it got all sucky. I'm sorry, you guys. I've got some stuff on my mind. Hopefully it didn't suck _too _badly. And, ah, thanks for reading, regardless.


	26. Pallet's Summer Festival

Author's Note: Finally got this thing up! Over 5600 words!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything but Sue and Miss Tilly. Thankssss.

* * *

><p><em>Pallet's Summer Festival<em>

"Aha! You can't get me!"

A little girl laughed teasingly at the little boy trailing behind her, chasing her and trying to get within range.

"Oh, yes I can!"

The boy's laughter rang through the thick summer air, along with the shuffling of little feet.

The laughter of the children, sweet and carefree, caught the attention of several adults, who simply smiled, thinking back on their own youth. They didn't take too long to reminisce, however, before returning to the task at hand.

As the two children ran throughout the town, the boy reached into his pocket, pulling something out and raising it to eye level. Shutting one eye, he aimed at his target.

The little boy finally flicked his wrist forward, letting the object fly from his fingertips, and suddenly a small pop sounded.

_Pop._

The little girl gasped and stopped where she was. Looking just over her shoulder, she peeked down at her ankle. A small pain was settling there, and there, beside her foot in the dirt, was a Pop-It, busted and lifeless. The girl's cheeks stained a dark pink.

"Oh, I'll get you for that!"

Whirling around, it was the girl's turn to give chase. She ran after the boy, hot on his heels, and the boy just laughed and ran, his cheeks flushed red with joy and the heat.

As the children of Pallet played, chasing one another and running around, taking everything in, everyone else was hard at work.

The sky was getting dark, shades of blue seeping into the purple hues left over from the sunset, mixing beautifully. The date was the fourth of July and all of Pallet was buzzing. There were women bringing chairs out to the street and food from their homes to several tables lined along the main road. Men stood in front of grills, cooking hamburgers and hotdogs and occasionally dabbing salt or pepper on the food, sometimes both.

The fourth of July was a big day in Pallet. It was an annual thing, which was much looked forward to after the town's yearly Poké Palooza, which was always held in May. The small town had all sorts of different festivals and celebrations throughout the duration of the year; this was one of them.

"Momma! Momma! When do the fireworks start?"

A young mother smiled down at her son, reaching down and placing a hand on his head.

"Soon, dear."

The little boy's face lit up and he squealed, turning away from his mother and running off, excitement coursing through his veins and an extra boost of energy surging through his small legs.

He wasn't the only one excited; everyone was eager for what was about to take place.

Pallet's Summer Festival: held every two weeks after the summer solstice, give or take a day or two, the name of the celebration spoke for itself. The festival was all about enjoying summer, relishing in the cool breezes and warm temperatures, cherishing the memories one made during the first half of the year and looking forward to the second half. Everyone spent the entire day in their homes, cooking food for the entire town, and when the sun began to set they finally emerged from their homes. Men went to work at grilling and getting the fireworks ready, which would be shot off later in the evening, while the women from each home brought chairs out to the main road for their family to sit in as they ate and chatted. And all the while, children ran amuck, laughing and playing like little kids will do.

Kids enjoyed it, adults enjoyed it, everyone enjoyed it. A celebration filled with food, friends and family, and pretty fireworks lighting up the night sky. What wasn't to enjoy? It was filled with excitement and laughter and fun. One of the most popular and anticipated holidays in Pallet Town.

And somewhere in the busy town, swarmed with so many bodies in motion that it seemed like there were three times as many people as there actually were in Pallet, Ash Ketchum carried a large plate of his mother's homemade cheese cake. The fourteen year old trailed behind his mother, who walked just a foot or so ahead, a large bowl of mashed potatoes in her hands and a plastic bag filled with canned sodas hanging from her arm. The two Ketchums approached one of the many tables covered in food for the townspeople during the celebration, each finding a spare spot or two without something already sitting there and placing the items down.

"Wait a minute, sweetie. That doesn't go here."

The black-haired boy looked up at his mother.

"What? Why not?"

"Cheese cake is a dessert, sweetie," Delia Ketchum smiled, "it goes on the dessert table over there." The brunette pointed just two tables down.

Her son blinked, looking down to the table his mother was pointing to, and pouted before giving a small nod. He'd never really realized that the different foods were organized by table; his mom usually made him a plate. He felt his Pikachu scurry past him, its fur brushing against his leg, and under the table, and once Ash was sure his beloved pokémon wasn't in the way, he began to turn.

And turning his body clockwise, to the right, he turned right into someone else. The boy gasped, stumbling a bit, and clutching onto his mother's cheese cake for dear life, not wanting to let it slide off the plate. A pair of hands came to settle overtop of his on the silver-trimmed plate he was holding, steadying him.

Ash Ketchum looked up to find Gary Oak, his best friend, biggest rival, and long time love interest staring down at him, just a few inches taller than himself. A grin adorned the brunette's face and he laughed, teasingly giving his friend a greeting of, "You sure are a klutz, aren't you, Ashy Boy?"

The comment brought a scowl to Ash's face immediately. Gary's grin widened.

"Oh, yeah, well-"

Suddenly, before Ash could retort back, there was a feminine laugh. The two boys glanced over at Ash's mother, who had her eyes shut and a hand covering her mouth.

"What's so funny, Mrs.K?" Gary asked. Delia shook her head.

"It's just so nice to see some things never change." Delia opened her eyes, smiling.

"You boys keep growing up, bigger and stronger and smarter, but you still get into your little spats, the same way you have since you were just a few months old."

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we met when we were, like, two?" He thought his mother had told him that before, not too long before. shook her head.

"Oh, no, no. Definitely not. You two have known each other much longer than that, Ashy. Why, you were barely three months old the day we moved in and met Professor Oak and little Gary." The woman gave a fond smile to the Oak boy.

"As small children you didn't really fight a lot, but you got into your own little spats every now and then and Gary here has been teasing you since he could say a full sentence. It's just so funny that it still gets to you, sweetie. That's all." The woman's smile turned semi-apologetic.

Ash huffed. "Yeah, well..." the boy murmured, pulling his lips together tightly. The boy stood there for a moment, pouting, and Gary began to laugh. Ash scowled.

A smile still gracing her face as she stared at the two boys she cared for dearly, Delia blinked as someone called out, calling her name.

Turning, the woman saw one of the girls of Pallet Town, Sue, age fourteen, approaching her. The girl stopped just in front of her, beside Gary.

"Miss Tilly wants to know if you could help gather some more flowers for her necklaces. We've almost run out," Sue explained. For the last half hour or so the teenage girl had been sitting with the old woman, who typically gave things away at any and every Pallet Town celebration. At the Poke Palooza she'd been given away Pichu; today she was giving away necklaces made from flowers. The special necklaces were called garlands in Pallet and the vast majority of the Kanto region, although if one ventured out to the Orange Islands they'd find that they were best known as leis in that area.

"Oh, is that so?" Delia glanced over at the elderly woman sitting nearby, carefully making the flowered necklaces. Miss Tilly glanced up and caught the younger woman's eye and the two exchanged a smile.

"Of course I'll help!" Delia agreed, Sue's face lighting up as she thanked the older female. The younger girl turned around, heading back to the small stand Miss Tilly was sitting at, and Delia moved to follow. The woman glanced back at her son.

"There are still a few more things at the house, Ash. Do you think you can finish bringing them out?" Delia asked. Her son nodded. The woman smiled and gave him a nod of thanks, heading off after Sue. The two boys stood in silence.

"There's still two more pots of stew and three plates of dessert," Ash said, after the boys had stood there in their own little bubble of silence for a moment. Gary looked at his friend. The boy smiled.

"Your mom really gets into these sorts of things." It was a confident statement. Gary had known the woman nearly as long as her son had. The woman became very over-zealous when it came to parties and celebrations, often working extra hard and overachieving at whatever she was doing for the celebration. Cooking a lot of food was a big feature of her's; she cooked a lot of food for every occasion.

"Yeah," Ash agreed, nodding, and the boy finally took a step towards the dessert table his mother had pointed out to him earlier.

"Need some help with the rest of the food?" Gary asked as he watched Ash approach the dessert table, taking one hand off the plate, adjusting the other, and nudging some of the stuff already on the table out of the way.

"Yeah," the boy called back to Gary, not even glancing over to his friend, as he finally made enough room to set down the large plate. Ash then turned away from the table, looking up to find Gary grinning at him, apparently waiting on him. The Ketchum boy smiled, laughing a little despite himself, and headed back over to where the brunette was, the two proceeding to head towards the Ketchum household together.

"Stay there, Pikachu! Don't get into too much trouble while we're gone," Ash called back to Pikachu, who peeked out from under the tablecloth with a, _Pika pi?_ as it watched it's owner leave the scene.

"Hey, where's Pichu?" Ash asked, glancing over at his older companion. Gary turned his head towards Ash.

"Eh? Oh, he's running around. I wanted to leave him with Grandpa, but he wanted to see what was going down down here in town. It's like he knows something big is happening today."

There was a pause.

"Is Professor Oak not coming, then?"

A frown settled on the younger's face.

"Well, no, he's not." Gary frowned, as well.

"Oh."

The two walked on in silence for a moment, their footsteps quiet and breathing in sync, both their heart's a little heavier than they would've liked.

It'd been a little while since their little family had been together for this festival in particular. Their little family consisting of Ash's mother, Gary's grandfather, and the two of them. Ash's father had left long before, so he didn't count. Gary's parents were always away on business, so they didn't count.

"He didn't come last year, either. Neither did you."

"Yeah. We were out researching in Johto."

"Yeah."

Another short pause followed the light bit of conversation. They were almost at the Ketchum household, at this point. They were close enough that Gary could see Mr. Mime's shadow through the curtains. The light was on inside and the pokémon appeared to be scurrying back and forth as it so commonly had come to do as it got older. They'd all been subjected to change as time passed and at this point the most stressing changes were in everyone's lifestyle. Last year, Gary and his grandfather had been out of town researching. The year before, Ash had been out on his pokémon journey. It'd been a couple years since they had been able to celebrate this festival together and Gary knew Ash disliked it. He did, too.

Slowly, the brunette reached over and took Ash's hand, just as they reached the fence. He felt the younger boy grab at his hand and he squeezed Ash's fingers lightly in a comforting manner. There was nothing he could say; he might be here, but his grandpa wasn't coming down from his lab for the celebration. He was far too busy to ditch out on his current project for some fun time, he'd told Gary earlier that evening. They would just have to go on without him.

"I'm back," Ash called as he opened the front door, going in first with Gary following close behind him. They each heard an enthusiastic, _Mime!_ but the two boys didn't catch sight of the pokémon until they entered the kitchen.

It was much cleaner than it had been when Ash had left with his mother. The mess his mom had left behind on the stove, like the stew that had spilled over onto the originally white stove, for example, was cleaned. The floor was no longer covered in flour and sugar and the dishes she'd used were clean, tucked into the dish rack. It didn't look like an over-zealous woman had spent the day practicing extreme culinary skills and cooking practices at all. And behind the kitchen table, standing opposite to Ash and Gary, was Mr. Mime.

_Mime, mime! _the pokemon greeted and picked up one of the covered pots of stew Mrs. Ketchum had made. The pokemon circled around the table, approaching the boys and offering the first pot to Gary. The brunette laughed, letting go of Ash's hand and taking the stew. Mr. Mime turned around, grabbing the other pot and thrusting it at Ash, who took it, inwardly feeling mixed about Mimey being as excited as his mother had been all day for the festival. They were both so pushy when interested in something.

_Mime, mime! _The pokemon shooed the two boys away, who each had to snicker. They turned, leaving the kitchen, heading through the living room and then out the door, just the way they had came.

"Your mom's personality has really rubbed off on him," Gary noted. Ash had to smile, nodding. He and Mimey didn't always see eye-to-eye, but that was exactly what reminded the boy of his mother, along with the pokemon's eager, enthusiastic personality. They really were two of a kind.

By the time the boys had walked the food to the correct table, walked back to the house, gotten the dessert, and walked back _again, _Mrs. Ketchum was finished gathering flowers for Miss Tilly. The woman sat in one of the chairs she and Ash had brought from home, Pikachu cuddled up in her lap and Pichu perched on her shoulder having one of it's ears scratched. To her right there was one chair, to her left there were two. The Ketchums had brought four, as both Ash and Delia had been under the impression that Gary and the Professor were both coming.

"Good job, boys," the woman praised as her son sat down in the chair directly to her left, Gary sitting down on Ash's other side. On instinct, Pichu darted off Delia's shoulder, scurrying across the back of Ash's chair to Gary's shoulder, rubbing it's head against it's owner's jaw. Gary laughed, scratching underneath the Pichu's chin. Pikachu stayed settled in Delia's lap, a bit too comfy to move. Ash slouched in his chair.

"Ash, sweetie, what's wrong?" Delia asked with a frown. Her son sighed.

"I'm just sort of bummed that Professor Oak isn't coming to the festival. He loves it."

Delia gasped.

"What, he's not?" The woman looked at Gary.

"Is this true, Gary?"

The teen nodded.

Gaping briefly, soon Delia huffed, crossing one leg over the other and successfully causing Pikachu to leap from her lap and into Ash's.

"That man! He knows we should all be together for things like this!"

Truth be told, Mrs. Ketchum had been the person who originally declared them their own little family. Professor Oak, as well as Gary, hadn't been in town this time last year, and this year the Professor _was_ in town, sitting up at his lab doing Gyarados knows what! He was keeping their family apart during a special occasion!

"He's working on an important project," Gary tried to explain, though even to a junior researcher like himself, who understood the importance of science in the world, it sounded like a bad excuse. Just a week before his grandpa had been talking nonstop about the festival; it was actually his favorite of the year. But then a new project had come up and he'd totally jumped onboard. On Ash's other side, Delia sighed.

"Alright then." She wouldn't press the matter further; she understood how much Professor Oak loved his work.

"How is Mimey?" Delia went on to ask, looking at her son as he straightened up in his chair, slouching having started to hurt his back.

"He cleaned the big mess you left in kitchen," Ash told her, causing the woman to smile. She was so fond of her pokémon. He was cute and sweet and such a hard worker! She loved him dearly. Why, she'd almost consider him a son, but Ash was enough for her and-

Delia's inner thoughts were cut off by a loud screeching noise that left her gasping and covering her ears.

_Scracccckkkkk. Screeeeeeeeee._

"Ahem! Attention, everyone, attention!"

The people of Pallet, some already sitting and others still standing, moving around, all looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Ash gasped.

"Professor Oak?"

"Grandpa?"

Low and behold, above the town, traveling via hot air balloon, was Professor Oak. With a megaphone in one hand, the professor was leaned over the side of the balloon, smiling. Gary noticed a sack hanging down from the bottom of the balloon.

"Hello there! Good to see you today!" The man waved down to his grandson and the Ketchums.

"I thought you said he wasn't coming?" Ash turned to Gary and asked.

"I... didn't think he was." He'd told him he wasn't, anyway. Had that been a big joke?

Gary got the answer much sooner than he expected and in a different way than he would've liked to.

"Gary, my boy! Don't be so dense! You know I would never dare to miss my favorite festival," the Professor bellowed down to his grandson for everyone to hear, leaving the brunette to blush lightly. Ash laughed at Gary, his mother giggling beside him.

"Yeah, Gary, my boy." Ash nudged the brunette playfully with his elbow, causing him to scowl.

"Ahem," Professor Oak cleared his throat. "Now then!" The Professor gazed down at the whole of Pallet Town, looking from face-to-face.

"Everyone, it's that time of year again! You've all been crammed inside your houses, cooking all day, and working out in the fields, preparing the fireworks for tonight's festivities. The rest of Pallet and I thank you for that."

The Professor paused to smile gratefully, before continuing on with his speech.

"But I have also been working on a small something for you. It isn't much, as I've been busy with what will be a very long, endearing project, but I have compiled a few things for you all. Let's call them party favors. I have to return to my lab now, but I hope you all enjoy your food and have a wonderful time watching the fireworks!"

And with that, Professor Oak lost the megaphone, a small remote control replacing it in his hand. He hit a big red button and the large sack dangling from the bottom of the hot air balloon began to glow. Brighter and brighter it glowed, until finally there was a small fizzing noise. Ash was reminded of Team Rocket.

_Boom!_

The sack exploded and out poured many things. All of Pallet gasped as confetti, candy, sparklers and other such things rained down. Most of it seemed to be festive items, but some things seemed like they were randomly thrown in, as was demonstrated as a bag of flower seeds fell down from the sky, landing on Miss Tilly's stand.

"Oh, party favors indeed," the old woman said with a hearty laugh, reaching forward and taking the bag of seeds into her hand. Beside her, Sue smiled.

"Professor Oak wanted to be involved with the festival, after all," Ash said, grinning from ear-to-ear, happy.

Delia nodded, smiling as confetti rained down on them, getting stuck in their hair and in the fur of the two pokémon in their company. Pikachu made a little noise, immediately attempting to shake off the colorful confetti. A piece, purple in color, landed on Pichu's noise and the baby electric mouse very nearly went cross-eyed trying to look at it. Gaping at it in wonder, it soon sneezed, causing Gary to turn his head away quickly as the little pokémon held onto his shoulder, the force of the sneeze very nearly making it topple off it's owner's shoulder. The brunette trainer laughed.

"Well, you heard him," a man said nearby to his wife and son, "let's dig in!"

And with that said, all of Pallet went to work on the tables of food. The elderly and the children got to go first, then the adults, then the teenagers. Ash picked, mostly, just the food his mother had cooked. Why? Because he loved her food. Gary got some of Mrs. Ketchum's mashed potatoes, but didn't go crazy about it like Ash did, who piled them onto his plate until there was a mountain of them.

After they were all three situated and ready to feast, the trio talked about everything. Gary and Ash looked back on old memories of past summer festivals, while Delia told them all about the few that they themselves couldn't remember. Apparently once upon a time Gary, age four at the time, stuck his head in Charles Clearwater's food to spite him after the boy had bullied Ash. Another time, when Ash was six, the boy had stuck a lit sparkler into his mouth. That was a memory both boys remembered.

Before anyone knew it, the food had been consumed and the garbage was being cleaned up. Everyone helped out. Some actually gathered the trash up, while others stood along the road, holding out trashbags for the garbage or manning trashcans. The clean up didn't take long with so many people and soon everyone was heading to the launch ground for the fireworks.

Pallet was a small town, with the fanciest of it's features being Professor Oak's lab, the grocery store, and the park. But those places weren't the greatest. The best thing about Pallet was the wilderness. Woods left alone, trees forever standing tall. The town had many open fields and, for firework displays like this one, the entire town gathered in one of these fields, taking blankets and cameras with them to watch and document the show. Ash, Delia, and Gary were no different.

Running back to the Ketchum household, the three each grabbed something. Ash grabbed some more canned sodas, to drink during the show. Gary grabbed an old blanket for them to sit on and Mrs. Ketchum grabbed a camera for picture taking. After they had everything they left, Pikachu, Pichu, and Mimey in tow.

By the time they got to the launch site, it was packed. People were here, people were there, people were everywhere! But they managed to find a space and Gary laid out the blanket, with Ash's help, and the three sat down on it, their pokémon scurrying to join them. Ash sat the sodas he had brought along on the blanket as Delia laid her hands in her lap, the camera held securely between his fingertips.

"I can't wait!" Delia gushed, "I love fireworks!"

The brunette abandoned the camera in her lap, clapping her hands together in excitement as the people closer to the front of the launch area began to get extra loud, becoming excited and roused.

"They're starting!" Someone shouted and the crowd gave a loud roar, ready to see something magical.

And just seconds later, they really were. There was a loud crackling noise and the first firework was set off, two more quickly following it. The crowd gasped and exploded in cheers. And amongst those cheers, the Ketchum duo was cheering, too, loud and energy-filled. Pikachu sat in Ash's lap, gazing at the sky in awe as Pichu snuggled against the bigger mouse, it's face hidden in Pikachu's fur. Gary took a moment to observe the two.

As Pichu stayed tucked against Pikachu, quivering slightly, the larger pokémon couldn't help but take notice.

_Pika pi?_

Pikachu placed a small paw down on Pichu's back.

_Pi... pi..._ Pichu moaned miserably.

_Pika pi! Pika, pika, pika pi!_ Pikachu seemed to be convincing the smaller mouse of something. But Pichu just shook it's head.

_Pi, pichu, pi..._

For a moment Gary thought he saw Pikachu visably frown, but just seconds later someone else was stepping in. Gary was left staring as Ash reached down, placing his hands on Pichu's sides.

"Hey, come on, buddy," the boy cooed, turning Pichu around to face the fireworks. The mouse squeezed it's eyes shut, Ash lifting it up to his head, where he let it sit, his hands still flush against the small pokémon's sides.

"Ohhh! Look at that!" Delia cried out, snapping a picture of a displayed firework, but Gary wasn't focusing on the woman sitting on the other side of his best friend. Her exclaimations were just like background music right now. He was focused on Ash's face, calm and confident and peaceful, and the boy's hands on his pokémon's sides, reliable and secure. For a moment, Gary saw Ash from a much more mature angle as the trainer coaxed Pichu, quietly, into opening it's eyes. Slowly, the Pichu came to listen. Opening it's eyes, showing it's brown hues to the world, the small mouse made a noise at the sight of the night sky.

_Pi, pi..._ the pokémon sounded amazed, fascinated, it's face aweful, and Gary had to smile.

"See, buddy? It's not so bad, is it?" Ash asked.

_Pichu! Pichu pi!_

Ash laughed, carefully lowering his hands after deciding Pichu was hanging onto his head safely.

"Oh, Ash, Gary!" Mrs. Ketchum was nudging at her son's arm as soon as he lowered it. "Get up! Let me take some pictures of you!"

"Eh?"

The two boys looked at the woman, then at each other, and a smile spread across Ash's face.

"C'mon, Gary, let's do it," the boy insisted right along with his mother, the look on his face eager and confident, but the light in his brown hues just hopeful.

"Who knows? We might not be sitting here together next year." The words hit at Gary's heart, making him think back to the small piece of a conversation he and Ash had had earlier heading to the Ketchum house, about how it'd been two years since they'd celebrated the summer festival together already. Together as in him and Ash. They really didn't know if they'd be able to celebrate together next year and, as the thought pulled at both of their heart's somewhere deep inside, Gary finally nodded, bringing himself to smile.

"Yeah, okay."

Standing, Gary pulled Ash up and Delia squealed, ready to take picture after picture after picture.

And oh, did she take picture after picture after picture. The camera could take 32 pictures. Delia Ketchum had no problem filling up those pieces of film. She took pictures of Ash and Gary, both together and seperate. She took pictures of the pokémon, together and seperate and with their young trainers. She made them take pictures of her, too, with Mimey and of people who passed by, heading to different blankets. Funny faces, serious faces, off-guard faces and happy faces. Delia Ketchum made sure she got them all. And then the finale. Oh, the finale. When all those fireworks were shot off, lighting up the night sky with blues and reds and violets, she got someone else to take a picture, wrapping her arms around Ash and Gary's shoulders. The pokémon got placed into the picture, too, the fireworks blazing wildly in the background, like a beautiful back drop, and they used the last piece of film in the 32-piece camera for a group picture that would last forever.

Afterwards, Delia just wanted to develop the pictures as quickly as possible. On the way back to the Ketchum household she walked ahead, staring down at the camera in her hands with a big smile, Mr. Mime at her side. Pichu and Pikachu scurried past her, taking the lead, but the woman didn't seem to notice, too happy at how the festival had went.

When they reached the house, Delia said goodnight to Gary, going on in and taking Mimey with her as well as coaxing the two electric mice inside. A happy,_ Mr. Mime!_ could immediately be heard from inside, Mimey very happy to be home. He loved the house more than anywhere else.

Out on the doorstep, Ash and Gary stood there, basking in the porchlight. Ash held the blanket in his arms.

"You wanna come in?" Ash asked, hoping that Gary would. Maybe he could stay the night and their celebrating wouldn't have to end there on the doorstep. That's what Ash was hoping for, anyway. He liked spending time with Gary, obviously, especially now that they didn't see each other a whole lot because of Gary's research and his own pokémon journey.

Needless to say, the black-haired teen was very displeased when the taller boy shook his head.

"Nah, I need to get home and see how Grandpa is. He wants me to help him with his project; he says it's already a handful," Gary explained.

"Oh."

A silence settled between the two, the only sounds audible being the leaves as the wind swept through them in the trees and a few wild pokémon lurking nearby.

After they'd stood there minutes, neither speaking, Gary decided it really was time for him to get home.

"Well, I'll be going now. Hope you had as much fun tonight as I did, Ashy Boy," the brunette said with a smile. Ash frowned, but made himself to smile.

"Yeah, I did."

Stormy blue eyes trailed lazily over the Ketchum boy's face, taking it in and looking past what was on Ash's surface to what was conveyed in his eyes. He didn't want to see Gary go. But he needed to, really.

"Grandpa and I are heading out of town tomorrow," Gary said suddenly and Ash felt like someone had just dropped a bomb on him.

"What?" The boy looked up, shocked. Gary nodded.

"Yeah," the brunette rubbed the back of his neck, "For this long term project of his. I don't know how long we'll be gone."

Ash looked down, visably saddened and distraught. Gary hadn't even said anything about this until now and he didn't like surprises. Not one's like this.

"Well then... it was nice seeing you again," Ash murmured.

They'd spent the last month or two together, so Ash supposed his wanting Gary to stay was a little selfish, but that didn't help the sad feeling he was harboring in his heart.

Gary frowned, looking down at the boy, hating the look on his face and just wanting to wipe it away.

"Close your eyes," the brunette commanded. Ash glanced up, confused.

"Uh, what?"

"Just do it," Gary insisted.

Eyeing Gary's face, unsure, Ash nodded and let his eyelids slide closed. Gary smiled softly.

The next thing Ash knew, something was being slipped over his head, coming to dangle around his neck. The boy's eyes snapped open and he reached up with one hand, the other still clutching onto the blanket.

Around his neck was a thin silver chain Gary had worn for perhaps the last year and a half. Feeling the smooth silver between his fingertips, Ash looked up at Gary.

"Gary, what-"

"It's my promise to you," Gary stated. Ash blinked.

"Promise?"

Gary nodded.

"I promise that this time next year, I'll be here and we'll celebrate again. I'll be right here with you." The brunette offered Ash a warm smile. The younger boy felt his cheeks heat up, though only slightly. Gary was promising they'd spend the next summer festival together again, too?

"And next time I'll make Grandpa come along, too. For sure." The Oak boy reached out, taking Ash's hand in his briefly.

"Give that back to me next year. Hold onto it until then, Ash."

_Until then..._ the words made Ash warm inside, suddenly. Like he had something to look forward to for the next year. Gary winking at him might have contributed to the warm feeling, too.

Gary let go of Ash's hand and turned away from his long-time friend, moving off the Ketchum's doorstep and heading on out through the fence.

"See you later, Ashy Boy!" The brunette called back, throwing up a wave without glancing over his shoulder to see what Ash was doing, a big grin gracing his face.

He was leaving tomorrow, for probably a long while, but he was happy.

On the doorstep, Ash stood, watching Gary's figure disappear into the darkness. His cheeks a dark pink at this point, the boy laughed, mostly at himself and Gary and this silly promise they suddenly had, and smiled.

"Until then. Okay."

Ash turned towards the front door, turning the knob and pushing it open. Stepping inside, he shut the door behind him and dumped the blanket in his arms on the arm of the couch. Then his hands were on the chain and the chain was at his lips, the sterling silver pressed against his lips.

Ash smiled.

He didn't care how long Gary stayed gone suddenly, because he knew when he'd return. He'd be here for Pallet's next summer festival; he'd made a promise lined in silver. And for Ash that was enough.

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><p><strong>THE END<strong>

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><p>And... done! I have to say: I loved the beginning of this, and then got to hating it towards the middle, but I liked the ending. I think I actually pulled it off! Sorry for any mistakes or whatever of suckishness, you guys. I wrote this in a day and it's late now. But try and think of this: this is the LONGEST chapter in this entire series! Whoa! But yeah, thanks for reading and please review. You can read all you want; reviews make authors here happy 8D<p>

Something I want to address: thanks to those who pointed out the abscence of "Delia" in the last chapter. I'm gonna go back and fix that now. But I have to say, frankly? As I was editing this on I was saving periodically and... every time I saved there was this one part, when Sue is calling Ash's mom, that kept changing itself. Originally she was actually calling Delia; I had her actually saying something. But it kept taking out her name and just leaving "!" The hell? Whatever. I just changed that part. But if you see something funky like that, please tell me!

Also, I'm gonna go update the publication schedule on my profile right now, because now it's very inaccurate, so please go check that out, too! Bye, guys! PuddinPie loves you!

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><p><strong>Next Installment: Puppy Love, Friday, 0706/2012. Look forward to it! It's gonna be cute!**


	27. Puppy Love

_Warning: contains an angry Delia Ketchum, plot is mostly Gary-centric._

**Disclaimer: I only own Mae. Kthxbye.**

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><p><em>Puppy Love<em>

Sunshine, sunshine everywhere. The sun's bright love fell down on the town of Pallet in warm waves. The townspeople bustled about, out enjoying the gorgeous day. Insect pokémon hung out in the trees, grass types scurrying along on the ground.

Beside an old woman's rose bush, a Bulbasaur laid in the grass, basking in the sunlight and letting the bulb on it's back absorb plenty of energy. It was almost a quarter after eleven. In a little under an hour the sun would be at it's highest peak in the sky, releasing all the energy it could. That's what the Bulbasaur was waiting for. Sunlight helped it's kind.

A little boy squealed excitedly as he passed the yard with his mother, peeking through the broken picket fence at the pokémon, and the Bulbasaur gave a rough but soft growl.

"Momma! Momma!" The boy tugged on his mother's hand, the other arm swinging around wildly as the boy pointed at the Bulbasaur. His scarred cheeks were rosy, red from both the heat and the excitement the three year old was currently feeling. The mother smiled down at her son.

"I see, Ashy, I see," Delia Ketchum cooed, trying to assure her only child that, yes, _she saw the Bulbasaur._ She was the one who could see over the fence rather than having to peek through it, after all.

Satisfied with his mother's answer, little Ash Ketchum leaned back, his little feet still moving, but his mother having to pull on his hand to urge him along, as he had slowed down considerably.

"Gawee, Gawee! See it, see it?" The little tyke had a habit of repeating his sentences, which were mostly choppy and missing a few words at his young age. The other little boy walking on Mrs. Ketchum's other side, not her son but something like it, had to hear his squealing friend.

"I taw, I taw," Gary Oak, a few months older than Ash with paler skin and a few extra centimeters to his height, replied. Just like Ash had his speech problems, the Oak boy did, too. Gary had problems pronouncing words that started with an s, often coming to have a lisp when he attempted to say said words.

"Cool! Cool!" Ash cried, reaching up and clapping his hand against his mother's wrist in excitement as the woman squeezed his fingers lovingly, doing the same to Gary's in her other hand.

"We both saw, sweetie. It was very cool," Delia assured her son, pulling him along as he tried to look back at the Bulbasaur. She was thrilled that Ash was so interested in pokémon, as her husband loved them, as well, but for the moment they were headed to the only playground in Pallet, where her son would hopefully play with other children rather than pokémon. If she let him, the three year old would live with the town's pokémon professor, Professor Oak, up at his lab and play with his pokémon forever. He'd never interact with other kids, besides Gary.

Speaking of, the young mother was grateful little Gary was so used to pokémon and was, from the sort of personality he was showing so far, a bit more uninterested in them than Ash was. Gary practically lived with pokémon, much like Ash wanted to. Seeing a Bulbasaur didn't get him too hyped up. The little boy liked Squirtles better. Give him a Squirtle and he'd have a fit. Delia had witnessed that first hand.

The trio continued down the road, passing friends and neighbors who were out heading towards their own destinations. Mrs. Ketchum had to readjust the bag hanging off her shoulder several times, as Ash kept reaching for everything. He reached for the house key dangling from his mother's belt loop. He also reached around his mother towards Gary who, at times, actually started reaching back. He was just over excited, she knew, but that still didn't make it any less difficult.

Finally, they were at the park and Delia was able to release the boys, letting go of their hand's and dropping the bag she'd been carrying onto one of the benches in the small park. The woman proceeded to sit down, sighing, finally content and happy to be able to sit. She peered around.

The park was smaller than parks one would find in neighboring towns, off to the side of the main road in what had once been a vacant field. Despite it's small size, Delia still found it pretty cute. It was mostly just a playground, filled with plenty of neat things, from swings to slides to monkey bars. There was also a see-saw and a mechanical ride at one end of the area; the ride resembled a Growlithe. A little boy was playing on it, a little girl his age standing nearby with her hands on her hips, waiting for her turn impatiently. Delia giggled.

Aside from the playground for the kids, there were several benches for the adults to sit and chat as their children played. Delia liked just sitting and watching her son play, as well as the other children. Her eyes stayed focused on the little boy and girl playing near the Growlithe ride, until a little hand tugged at her's. The young mother glanced down into the face of her precious little boy.

"Momma, can play now?" Ash asked, staring up at his mother with big, wide brown eyes. Gary stood beside him, turned away and staring, interested, at the swings which were, for the moment, filled with other kids. The little brunette's lips were pulled into a pout. The swings were his favorite thing in the park. He liked to kick himself off from the ground and let himself swing back and forth, kicking himself off again when he needed to. As a small child, he couldn't go very high up. Neither could Ash, although said black haired little boy didn't push himself, instead getting Gary to, and the older boy never pushed Ash too high on purpose. What if he fell off the swing by accident? Gary was careful when it came to his best friend.

"Yes, sweetie, you two can go play." Mrs. Ketchum nodded, "But when I call you for lunch, come right away, alright? We're having lunch at noon."

"Yes ma'am," little Gary said, turned towards his friend and his mother now. Delia smiled, reaching out and placing her hand on the brunette's head, ruffling the large mass of hair there affectionately.

"I'm gonna try and read a little, so watch out for Ash, okay, Gary?" She knew she had no reason to worry; Gary was like an older brother to Ash, at this point.

Delia Ketchum never could have known then what the two would grow to be to each other, how important, how special, as they grew older, maturing and finding their places in the world.

The three year old brunette nodded, causing Mrs. Ketchum's smile to widen.

"Alright, off you go," the woman said, leaning forward and giving Gary a kiss on the forehead as a thank-you before turning and kissing her son just for the sake of it. Ash was the most important thing in her life.

"Bye-bye, Momma!" Little Ash called as he and Gary ran off, leaving Mrs. Ketchum to smile and wave, watching them go. The woman then proceeded to reach into the bag she'd brought along.

Filled with snacks, drinks and sandwiches tucked away and sealed into zip-lock bags, there was a smaller section on the inside of the bag, where she could feel something rectangular shaped. Delia unzipped the inside pocket, pulling out a book. The woman crossed one leg over the other, leaning back against the back of the wooden bench. Cracking the book open to where she'd left off the last time she'd taken the time to read it, her eyes began to scan Page 42 immediately.

Meanwhile, Ash and Gary ran through the playground. They ran in front of the swing set, staying far away as they were constantly being warned that someone swinging could accidentally kick them and, as Mrs. Ketchum typically said, that would, _"mean a lot of ouchies."_

Going past the swing set, still filled with kids taking up all the swings, much to Gary's dismay, the two soon found themselves under the monkey bars, which were vacant. The two little boys stopped, panting slightly as their little bodies couldn't really keep up with the degree of running they were speeding along at.

Gary stood, slightly hunched over with his hands resting on his knees, staring down at the grass. Some of it was torn away, probably from kids like them running across it day in and day out. Patches of dirt were coupled together with the patches of grass that still remained. Little specks of trash, mostly torn pieces of old candy wrappers and such, were easier to see in the dirt than in the grass.

"Whaddya wanna play on?" Gary stood up straight, picking up one of the old, abandoned candy wrappers that was particularly big compared to the rest as he did.

The little boy waited for an answer, examining the piece of trash all the while, ready to throw it away and making a face as he wondered how people could throw stuff on the ground. As the grandson of a scientist, he had been taught that throwing stuff on the ground was bad. His grandpa called the trash on the ground litter and said that littering was bad for the ground and that sometimes litter could be bad for pokémon, too. Gary hated the thought of someone doing bad things to pokémon. Grandpa said sometimes they ate litter and it made them sick. Gary shuddered.

It was then Gary realized that Ash still hadn't answered him, but was still panting beside him. Curious, the brunette looked over.

And saw Ash gaping beside him, standing still and looking upwards.

"Ashy?" The brunette turned toward his friend, staring at his face and noticing his focused expression. Blue eyes followed the gaze of brown hues in the direction of the slide.

There was a line at the piece of playground equipment, made up of boys and girls. And at the very top, standing with the sunlight streaming from behind her like a bright, angelic light, was a little girl.

"Go on already!"

"Yeah, go!"

The little girl huffed.

"M'going! Keep your socks on-nuh!" The little girl finally sat down, having apparently held up the line for a while, and slid down. And when she reached the bottom, Ash was right there, Gary left standing in the background. The brown haired boy moved to head over, approaching the two.

The little girl stared up at Ash, blinking, and came to give him a funny look, raising an eyebrow.

"What do vou want?" The little girl asked, frowning like Ash was bothering her. When he got close enough, Gary looked the girl over.

She was the boy's age, with brown hair that hung down to her shoulders, the front held back by a thin yellow headband, and her eyes matched her hair, brown like melted chocolate. Brown like Ash's eyes. She was dressed in a little yellow dress and brown shoes with white socks that went just past her thin little ankles. She was kind of cute, Gary thought.

Ash apparently thought so, too. The little boy was staring at her in awe, his cheeks a light pink as the girl spoke to him, having trouble with her y's.

"You are," Ash spoke properly, trying not to miss any words in front of the cute girl, "pre-tty." Every syllable was pronounced, the boy using a word he thought was more grown up than_ "cute."_

Beside Ash, Gary frowned, his infamous three year old glare starting to come out.

As unhappy as Gary was on the inside, the little girl appeared to be happy on the outside. Ash's compliment sent her leaned forward on her tip toes, heat rushing to her cheeks. Then the girl giggled, smiling. Gary noticed that she had eight teeth on the top of her mouth where he had six. It was weird, he thought. The teeth were kind of yellow, too... Ew.

Gary stopped looking at her mouth as her hand moved, darting out and grabbing onto Ash's. In his little tiny sneakers, Gary's toes curled.

Not saying a word to either boy and pretending like Gary wasn't even there, at that, the little brown haired girl started to walk, leading Ash off towards the see-saw. The black-haired little boy let himself be led off, smiling like a little boy will do when he likes a little girl.

"C'mon, Gawee!" Ash didn't forget Gary and it made the boy happy inside, but...

As he went to sit on one end of the see-saw, Ash situating himself on the other, and the little girl grabbed his hand, pulling him off the piece of equipment, his happiness faded a little.

"Ladies first!" The little girl pulled on his hand harder and Gary frowned, jerking his hand away to stop her.

"Fine."

His grandpa had told him and Ash that before; girls went first. So he let the girl see-saw with Ash first.

Watching Ash sit on the see-saw with the girl on the opposite end, the other two kids going up and down as he stood on the sidelines and watched, Gary was not happy at all. The two played like he wasn't even there! The girl sat on her end of the saw, laughing and giggling and happy, and Ash laughed with her on his end! Never once did the dazed little boy look over at his best friend. Not once. He'd called him over here and wasn't even paying any attention to him. The girl had just said she should get a turn first, but never even showed signs of letting Gary have his.

_That's dumb,_ little Gary thought to himself, but that was just jealousy talking. How else was the boy supposed to feel, sitting there watching his best friend play with someone else and not including him? Ash was being as mean as the people who threw litter on the ground and hurt pokémon. And Gary didn't like those people, so right now he decided he didn't like Ash, either. Or the little girl.

Ash and the girl intruding on Gary's play time played until Mrs. Ketchum called them for lunch. Gary was closer to where the brown haired woman sat by coincidence, having wandered over towards a trash can and finally thrown away the candy wrapper he'd picked up, so he reached the woman first. Ash and his new little girlfriend came behind him, holding hands.

Mrs. Ketchum was about as surprised to see her son holding a little girl's hand as Gary was upset to see it. He didn't want Ash to hold any little girl's hands. As cute as they might be, girls had cooties.

"Who is this, sweetie?" Delia asked, her hands resting in her lap, the book she'd been reading laying on the bench beside her, between her thigh and the bag she'd towed along.

"Dis is Mae," Ash introduced the little girl to his mother, who stared incredulously down at her son and the little girl. She eyed the brown haired girl, trying to decide if she knew this girl's mother or not. She didn't believe she did.

"Mae stay for lunch, Momma?" Ash asked, looking up at his mother with his big, convincing brown hues. The corners of Delia's mouth twitched upwards into a small smile.

_I think he likes this little girl,_ the young mother thought, thrilled, _And she's precious!_

Delia wanted to say yes right away, but a person couldn't just do that.

"I don't know, Ashy. Mae's parents might get worried if she eats with us," the woman said, sure that if Ash suddenly wasn't exactly where he was supposed to be she'd be concerned.

"M'here wit mah sister!" Mae piped up, talking for the first time in front of Gary. "She wun care." Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky. He didn't like it.

Delia's eyebrows pulled together, furrowing as she stared down at her son and his new friend. She could tell Ash liked this little girl; it was written all over his cute little face. And she supposed giving the girl some juice and a snack wouldn't do too much harm...

"Okay," Mrs. Ketchum said finally, "she can stay and eat lunch with us, sweetie." She didn't want to disappoint her son and she didn't see any real harm in letting Mae eating with them. This was Pallet; a trustworthy place filled with trustworthy people. You could trust everyone; that was a well known fact in Pallet Town.

Ash squealed, happy to have his new friend stay with them for lunch. Gary rolled his eyes, lugging himself up onto the bench.

Soon enough, Ash was sitting beside him, Mae on his other side and Mrs. Ketchum beside her. Delia had passed out sandwiches and juice to everyone. It was a good thing she brought extras in case of accidents or spills.

Ash actually talked to Gary during lunch, asking where he'd been while he and Mae were see-sawing. Gary felt a bubbly ball sort of feeling in his stomach, which the little boy could not recognize as the deadly mix of hurt and anger that it was.

"I played on Growlithe," Gary answered, lying and referring to the mechanical ride in the park. On Ash's other side, Mae giggled. Ash nodded, as intrigued as he could get with a girl he had decided he liked beside him.

Lunch went fairly smoothly, with Ash talking back and forth between Gary and Mae, talking more to the cute little girl than to his best friend. He cut to his mother every now and again, making her laugh and smile.

"Book good, Momma?" Ash asked, eyeing the book Mrs. Ketchum had come to place in her lap.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, sweetie. It's wonderful." The young mother smiled and so did her son.

"Yay!"

Gary felt a little of the weird feeling in his stomach melt away. Ash was talking to him and his momma. Maybe after lunch he wouldn't just play with Mae anymore? Gary hoped so.

But hope meant nothing. After they finished lunch Mrs. Ketchum pulled out three lollipops, handing one to each child and telling them to not play too rigoriously, as they had just eaten. They all three agreed not to.

Then Mae grabbed Ash's hand, just like she had earlier, and towed him away. Gary's shoulders slumped and his chest came to feel funny, too, like his heart was falling down, down, down. The brunette trailed after them, keeping a little closer to them this time as Mrs. Ketchum snuck one of the lollipops out for herself, taking off the wrapper and popping it into her mouth before picking up her book once more. She continued to read.

"What you want play on?" Ash asked Mae and Gary both, looking between his two fellow children. Gary smiled, happy to be included, and the boy opened his mouth to say he wanted to go on the swings.

But Mae beat him to it.

"Swings!" The little girl cried, hauling Ash off that way. Gary blinked. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all! She liked the swings... she was okay!

Gary smiled, suddenly happier and having decided Mae wasn't so bad.

But he was wrong. So wrong.

"Me first!" The little girl declared, settling herself into a swing. Gary frowned.

"No, my turn." The brunette reached out, wrapping his little hand around one of the swing's chains. Mae's face pulled together, scrunching up. She looked ugly when she did that.

"No!" The girl swung her thin little leg out at Gary, causing the boy to jump back. "Me lady! Ladies first!"

"You went first on tee-taw!" Gary rebelled, frowning.

"Dat was dat! Dis is swing! Different!" Mae kicked at Gary again, but she was nowhere close to making contact. Ash frowned.

"Be nice," the little boy said, defending Gary. Mae turned to Ash, glaring.

"I am nice. Now push me!" The little girl demanded, taking the lollipop Ash's mother had given her out of her dress pocket, tearing off the wrapper and popping it into her mouth. Then the little girl threw the wrapper onto the ground and Gary, the anti-littering child he was, had to make a quick dive to pick up the trash before Mae could try and kick him again. He succeeded in getting away unharmed, though only because this time around she hadn't kicked at him at all.

As Ash began to push Mae on the swings Gary, not wanting to hold onto the wrapper for a long time like he had with the first one that day, walked the garbage over to the trash can. It was a longer walk than it should have been, as the three year old got slow when he was full, but he made it there, throwing Mae's litter away and feeling accomplished. He peeked over towards the bench Ash's momma was sitting on, smiling. She was reading. He liked to read, though he couldn't read much of anything yet. He liked when she and Grandpa read him and Ash stories, though.

When Gary returned to the swings, he expected to see Ash being pushed by Mae at this point. The little boy was surprised when he found, funny enough, another little girl in a yellow outfit on the swings, a black haired boy behind her, pushing her the best he could. The brunette looked around, frowning as he wondered where the two had wandered off to.

His eyes caught sight of bright yellow sticking out from behind the slide and he heard a distant crying. The boy panicked, thinking maybe it was Ash, and his little feet took off, carrying him over towards the slide.

It was Ash.

Rounding the corner, Gary panted ever so slightly, putting a hand on the blue, plastic slide and huffing a little. Blue eyes widened.

There was Mae, trying to pry Ash's lollipop out of his hand. Her own was gone, eaten.

"Let go!" Ash cried, trying to pull his hand away from Mae, but the girl had a firm grip.

"Gimme!" The girl gave an extra hard pull, harder than the rest, and the candy popped out of Ash's hand. Mae gave a grin, leaning away from Ash, holding the lollipop between her fingertips as Ash started to cry a bit louder. Some kids in the area stopped to look.

"Shut up. Cry ba-by." Mae blew a raspberry at Ash, whirling around on the heel of one of her little brown shoes and retreating. Gary frowned, moving to stop her and hopefully get Ash's lolly back before she popped it into her yellow toothed mouth, but to his surprise Ash followed her before he could.

"Give back," the little boy said timidly, looking at Mae through tears and trying to scrunch his eyes up to look scary like Gary did when he got mad. Mae looked over her shoulder at him and the girl seemed to scoff, but she did stop.

"Whaddya want, baby?" She asked tauntingly as she turned towards him, her hands on her hips, the wrapper still intact on Ash's stolen lollipop.

"Want lolly!" Ash declared, pointing at the candy Mae had taken from him.

"No! Mine!" Mae lashed out.

Ash reeled back a little, timid and anxious, but the little boy stepped forward again, pressing onwards.

"Want back now!"

"I said no!"

"Now!"

Gary listened to the two fight, but didn't move in to stop them. It was weird, seeing Ash sticking up for himself. Usually that was his job.

"Get away!" Mae screeched as Ash moved to try and take the lollipop back from her, reaching for what was rightfully his candy.

The little girl screamed again, causing several of the kids watching to cover their ears, including Gary, and Mae reached out with her free hand, shoving Ash down. As she did the little black haired boy kicked his leg out, much like Mae had done to Gary earlier, following her example. The bottom of his shoe scraped against her knee, peeling some of the skin off of it and bringing blood to the surface. Mae howled loudly.

Right about that time, Mrs. Ketchum finally came over, having seen nothing but the boy she had raised to be sweet to girls lashing out at Mae.

"Ash!" The woman sounded angry and reached down, hauling her son up by the arm.

"Ashton Ketchum, you do not kick girls!" The woman sounded angry, causing her son to sniffle.

"M'sorry, m'sorry Momma..."

"Tell_ her_ you're sorry!" Mrs. Ketchum pointed at Mae, who had fallen on her butt on the ground and begun to cry.

Ash looked at Mae and frowned.

"But m'not sorry," the little boy said, causing his mother to gape.

"Ash! You and Mae were getting along fine at lunch! Why would you decide to kick her?"

The woman stared her son in the face, her own furious brown eyes telling his not to look away.

"Ash, answer me." Delia's tone was rough. She wasn't about to tolerate her son being violent! Especially towards girls!

The little black haired boy sniffled, staring into his mother's face, unmoving and quiet.

Gary had to tell her.

"Mae took his lolly and pushed him down, Mrs. Tetchum," the little brunette told her. Delia turned her head, looking at the boy. Her scrunched up face smoothened out.

"What?"

The woman looked her son into the face again.

"Is that true, Ashy?" Her voice was soft now, a gentle coo. Mrs. Ketchum placed one hand under her son's chin, the other wiping his hair back, away from his wet face. The little boy nodded.

There was a wail.

"But what 'bout me? I hurt! I hurt! He kick me!" Mae pointed an accusing finger at Ash. Mrs. Ketchum straightened up, turning towards the girl and placing her hands on her hips, a frown settled deep into her face.

"I know very well what he did, Mae. I saw it. I also know very well that I don't appreciate you being rude to my son." Delia's tone was sharp, firm. Gary didn't remember hearing Ash's momma talk like that a lot.

"But-"

"No buts." Delia raised one hand, signaling for the little brown haired girl to stop right there. Surrounding kids were beginning to giggle at Mae's misfortune and some adults were standing around, watching with mixed emotions as Delia went on.

"Tell me who your mother is right now, Mae," Mrs. Ketchum demanded, her tone serious. The little girl peered down at the ground.

"Mommy?"

"No, her _name._ What's her_ name_?"

Mae sniffled a little.

"Molly Cloverfield," the little girl hiccuped. Delia's hand returned to her hip. Behind her, Gary took a step towards Ash, bending down and picking up Ash's fallen lollipop as he did.

"Well, then you are Miss Mae Cloverfield, I presume. Tell your mother to expect a phone call from Mrs. Delia Ketchum, young lady, because I'll be getting in touch with her!" Pallet didn't have a phonebook, but they had a town directory!

"Yes'um," Mae nodded, sniffling.

"Good. Now," Delia took a step towards the girl, helping her up. Being the naturally supportive person she was, both mentally and physcially, Mrs. Ketchum lifted Mae up, being careful of her hurt knee, and rested the little girl against her hip.

"I have a first-aid kit with me. I'll fix your knee and I want you to point your sister out to me." The supposed sister hadn't shown up during all the commotion. Mae's cheeks flushed and the little girl looked away, still teary-eyed. It was then Delia knew she should've dug deeper into the sister deal earlier. This little girl had lied to her. There was no sister here with her. She was by herself.

Taking a step towards the bench she'd been sitting on all day, Delia looked over her shoulder at Ash and Gary, particularly at her son.

"Ash, I understand why you did what you did, but it's still wrong to kick girls, sweetie," she said gently, before really cracking the whip.

"Ten minutes of time out. Sit over there," The stressed mother pointed over to a bench close to the one she'd claimed for herself. She didn't want Mae and her son anywhere near each other right now. Maybe not ever again.

"Gary, you can go play, sweetie."

Gary looked up at Mrs. Ketchum.

That all said and done, and Mae crying in her arms, a few small streams of blood running down her pale leg, Mrs. Ketchum hiked the little girl higher onto her hip and retreated to her bench, where she administered first-aid to Mae.

After the angered but supportive woman had left, Ash and Gary looked at each other.

"Here," Gary slipped Ash's unopened lollipop into his hand. The little boy sniffled and smiled.

"S'ank you." Ash reached out, hugging Gary. The brunette's cheeks flushed.

"I gots to go time out," the younger told his friend, heading towards the bench. Gary looked over towards the swing set.

There was one empty swing. If he went over there now, he could finally get to kick himself off and swing like he'd been wanting to do all day.

But he wouldn't leave Ash alone, even if he did want to swing and Ash had kind of hurt his feelings today.

And so, instead of heading towards the empty swing, Gary turned around and followed Ash. He sat down beside his friend on the bench, who looked up at him with a confused look on his face.

Gary just smiled over at Ash and leaned back. Ash slowly came to smile, as well, and followed Gary's lead, leaning back, too. He liked to copy Gary.

At the swing set two seats, then just one, then two came open again, but Gary stayed where he was. He'd stay and be in time out with Ash, even if he didn't have time out. He'd be happy to stay with Ash.

After all, Ash was his best friend and he just liked being with him. If he was with Ash, he was okay, assuming Ash didn't _ignore_ him because of some _girl_ like he did today.

Gary shut his eyes, glad Mae wasn't there with them. He felt Ash lean against his right arm.

Ten minutes later, when Mrs. Ketchum came up to tell them that they were going to walk Mae home on their way back, she found the two boys asleep, leaned up against each other. One of Gary's fingers touched the back of Ash's hand, his retrieved lollipop still pressed against his palm.

Delia took a moment to observe the two and smiled, turning away. Mae had calmed down and would be in trouble once she called her mother; they could all wait a little longer to leave. She doubted the little girl was in a hurry to get yelled at, because Delia knew any good mother would get angry with a child who behaved in such a way, pushing others around and what not.

And so Mrs. Ketchum returned to the bench where she'd left Mae, swapped out her book for one of Ash's she'd brought along, and read out loud to the little girl.

Later on Delia learned from Mae's mother, Molly, that Mae really was a hectic, untamed child. And Delia breathed a sigh of relief, glad the little light that had stayed lit in Ash's eyes during their lunch with Mae seemed to have just been puppy love.

Oh, she was more than glad. She was _thrilled._

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>

* * *

><p>Phew! Glad that's done with. I thought that'd be about 2000 words; it ended up being around 5000.<p>

So guys! I was looking back at another oneshot in my collection to see something about Mae and noticed I had a new review with someone telling what their favorite chapter was. It got me curious. What is _your_ favorite chapter in this collection, if you have one? My favorite's to write were _Rain Rain Go Away _and _Let's Play Some Pokémon! _and that's all I know. Lol. But seriously, I'd like to know!

Also, Fun fact: as a kid I had eight incisors on the top of my mouth instead of the six I was supposed to have. I gave that feature to Mae~ Except I didn't get enough calcium and mine actually started to rot and had to be pulled... Ew. Went through most of elementary school with no teeth in the top of my mouth and kids asking me why. Lol. I hated it then.

Thanks for reading! Review?

* * *

><p><strong>Next Installment: Teaching Ash to Tie. 0710/2012.**

**Note: Next installment was originally supposed to go up 07/08. Something has come up.**


	28. Author's Note on Dualproblems

Okay, guys, I know you totally hate Author's Notes, especially from me, because I do them so often, but please bare with me on this.

So, if you follow me on tumblr at all you might know that about a week ago I said I'd be putting up Teaching Ash to Tie 09/02/2012. Well, instead of that, yesterday, the 2nd, I decided I would publish something else, A Home to Call Our Own, today, the 3rd. I've got a good start on it, but you see, I've decided to push it off to Friday. Both. Why? Because I need your help with both. I figure who better to turn to than your reviews when you're in a pinch?

For A Home to Call Our Own:

Okay, so first, there's going to be a question on my profile: Should Pikachu evolve?

As in, like, would you guys get pissed if I make him evolve. Because really, Ash is going to be 19 in this oneshot, Gary 20, and even though it is possible, I don't see Pikachu staying a, well, Pikachu for that long. Should I make him evolve, for the sake of logic, or keep him the same, for old time's sake? I really don't know, so I'm leaving it up to you guy's. I'll check the voting results on Wednesday, the 5th, so I can go back in and modify Pikachu's parts, if need be, and also so you guys can have at least a little time to vote on this. Thanks for the help in advance.

Secondly, this is just sort of a warning. This oneshot is just going to be sweet and full of humor, hopefully. And a little more loving, considering they're older. And LOTS of references to past things and events. Like, so much so that that's mostly what I've done so far, in 2,000 or so words. I just like referencing the past. Is that gonna be a big deal with anybody when they read it - tell me in a review or PM or whichever.

Thirdly, I've put bad blood between Gary and Mr. Mime. Sort of. From Gary's side. But not really. Just a lot of irritation. That's not something I'll be changing, so let's all be okay with it.

Finally, I just want to say that in hopefully sometime next week, after this has been published, I'll be writing something else and publishing it, something funny, that takes place right after this oneshot. And I mean right after. Hopefully. Dunno yet, but hopefully. I've got a lot going on this year.

Okay! Moving on.

Teaching Ash to Tie:

I'm hopefully gonna actually wind up publishing this one first, before the other, but I'm more into the other one, so I dunno. But yeah.

I was ready to write this the other day and publish it, but then I realized that there wasn't really anything good for, like, the core of it. You know? Like, A Home to Call Our Own doesn't really have a core, it's just a oneshot with a constant mood, with some cute things thrown in as the day progresses. But this has a goal in it: teaching Ash to tie his shoes. Duh.

This is something I'd also like your help on, but much more so.

A lot of you tell me I can write well, and thank you, but poems and songs aren't by thing. But I need one for this. Seriously. Maybe even just a chant.

I need something cute for Gary to teach Ash in order to tie his shoes. There's no real limit on what it can be, but I want it to tie into pokemon. Like, make them a part of it, you know?

These I'll probably stop accepting Thursday, and you can leave them here in a review, or PM me, or even leave them in an ask on my tumblr. I'm almost always on tumblr, so... My chances of seeing it are probably huge there compared to . But yeah. I wanna see what you guys can do! I know you'll all make something great, or maybe no one will try for it at all, but I'll wait anyway, okay?

Also: if you leave whatever you think up in an ask on my tumblr as an Anon, make sure you put your name on here, or what you've been reviewing here as, if you don't even have an FF account.

'Kay guys, thanks, and I'll see you Friday!

tumblr: yorudan-ai.


	29. I'm Sorry, Guys

Hi, guys.

So, um, I told several of you that there'd be a chapter last Friday, but there wasn't. At first there were complications; I realized that the plot I'd decided on for the next oneshot was dangerously close to another I'd already done. So I decided to delay the chapter and change it; make up something new. But I just can't bring myself to, guys. Actually, I'm pretty worn dry with this collection. So it's extremely unfortunate that I must say...

Palletshipping is officially finished. Sorry guys!  
>I love you all anyway and I am still writing, so, yeah...<p>

Don't hate me.  
>PuddinPie. <p>


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